The Cannon's Death Toll
by owlchicka
Summary: It's just another kill; the countdown begins to destroy. It's the 80th Hunger Games. Let the Games begin. We now have a VICTOR!
1. The Few, The Proud, The Tributes

It is that time of year again. Reaping Day. It strikes fear into all both young and old, strong and weak. Anyone age 12-18 should be the most terrified of all. Why? Becuase they are elligible for the Hunger Games, a fight for the death. Once your name is called, there is only a 1 in 24 chance of you making it home.

Escorts of all ages, and colors, head out to the twelve Districts of Panem. They go to call out the names of the doomed: the tributes.

**District 1**

**Silver Manhatten **is antisocial and the master of the cold shoulder who feels the need to prove himself in the Games.

**Rubye Rose Glitter **is a mean and snobbish girl who will do anything to revenge her dead sister.

**District 2**

**Alexander "Alex" Lear **is the ruthless killer with a permanent scowl.

**Absinthe "Abby" Pryse **nevers back down from anything. Nothing stops her, not even her father's death.

**District 3**

**West Greeter**is a loyal and kind fifteen year old. He has dark hair, nice brown eyes, and a speckling of freckles across his nose.

**Katsu Mirehi **is a little bit psychotic with a killer instinct. Her mahogany eyes often stare jealously at others.

**District 4**

**Dexter "D.C." Codes**, a huge scary guy, has dedicated his life to winning the Games. A Career through and through.

**Crowe Garnet **is a solitary and serious person. She is tall with long black hair.

**District 5**

**Jeremy Soraks **is a zany funny person, a generally good guy. Very cartoonish in appearance

**Echo Drifting**, a fun loving, optimistic people-person, is pretty with deep chocolate brown curls.

**District 6**

**Rayd Wister**, the victim of bullies growing up,thought he was almost free of the Reapings but fate had another idea.

**Darcy Plear **is the fun loving girl. She is loyal to the point of death.

**District 7**

**Reeve Solomon **is the always smiling, charming womanizer. Doesn't know when to keep his loud mouth shut.

**Cascade Price **is an adorable girl, but innocent and naive.

**Distict 8**

**Fray Lancing **

**Annastell Hubert **is very mature and serious for her age. Her large sparkling green eyes are hard not to stare at.

**District 9**

**Slice **looks like a monster with a stone like face covered in scars, but he is very calm and laid back unless you get on his bad side.

**Mackensie Marble **is a shy and quiet little girl.

**District 10**

**Jeffery "Jeff" Jester **is quiet and serious. Beware to any guy who talks to his younger sister.

**Samantha "Sammy" Jester **is very energetic. She gets ticked off if you tease her about her size.

**District 11**

**Cane Jacobi **is a very upbeat and confident kid. He is short, but he works it to his advantage.

**Nala Wheat **is solemn, quiet girl but she takes her anger on those she loves.

**District 12**

**Samuel Austen **is the whiny butt pessimist from the Seam.

**Trip Moors **is intelligent and charismatic. She inadvertandly became a symbol of rebellion in District 12

Thanks to all those who submitted. I was so surprised (and pleased) to have all the tributes within two days!

May the odds ever be in your favor (sorry, but I had to say it once!)

~Owlchicka


	2. Information

**Here is a quick thing about how this is gonna work, I've been getting messages about this so I hope this will clear up any confusion:**

There is NO official sponsoring system. Reviews would be nice, but they won't prevent you from dying. After I get all my tributes, I'll set up a poll to see who are the fave people.

If anyone has creative ideas for arena, mutts, etc, be sure to send them my way. Basically "gamemaker info".

**Now for acutal story info:**

Reapings will be fairly short. I don't want to waste too much time on them. I'd rather have more time about the actual Games.

I plan to have a brief chapter listing the Chariot rides and outfits, but this will be from a reporter's POV, not the tributes. Hey Project Runway wannabes, if you have outfit ideas (not just for you tribute, for any district) be sure to let me know.

Interviews...not sure yet. Seems like it would get way to repetitive and boring. I don't know though. It might be a short listing, it might not happen at all. We'll find out!

Training will be done in the form of their private training sessions in the pov of the tribute. It will also reveal their score. This will probably consist of 3-4 chapters.

**Comments, questions, concerns?**

There will be a break next week, as I will be on vacay with no internet access (the agony!). But as soon as I get back...


	3. District 1 Reapings

**My Reaping chapters will be fairly short. Just long enough to give you an idea of the tributes. I wanna get through them and get to the Games.**

**I still need guys for District 8 and 12 if someone wants to give me a bloodbath character. Just names, looks, basic personality, and reaping reaction. Thanks!**

**I got all my tributes a lot faster than I expected, so here is District 1. Tributes courtesy of packman23 and Autumn Summer.**

**Silver Manhatten:**

"So is that a yes?" I ask.

"You're fifteen," Thomson says flatly. So what if I'm fifteen. I 've worked harder at this than anyone else here. It wasn't easy in the least bit. My parents are dead, or so they tell me at the community home. There is no proof. A few of my friends and I were somehow able to scrape up the money needed for the Career Youth Program. After that I was able to maintain a scholarship for my training.

I need the Hunger Games. I am a nobody. You always hear tales of how the poor rise to the top. I'm going to be that man. I am going to make it all the way. And, hopefully, it will be this year.

My mentor continues, "Get that frown of your face." I narrow my eyes at him and he laughs, "You're a Career through and through. You've got the skill, go for it."

Those are the words I needed to hear. I'm volunteering today. No one is going to stop me.

I leave the room to go find Crystal. "Guess who you're lookin' at?" I say softly to her.

"A loser?" she laughs.

"No, the Victor of the 80th Hunger Games!"

"He's letting you! I can't believe it. I'm better than you!" she says with a pout. Well, I'm kind of glad that she isn't going into the arena with me. We've practically grown up together. But despite rumor, I don't like her as in, you know, like her.

"What's your token gonna be?" she asks. I really haven't thought about it. Crystal knows me well enough to read my face. She is the only person who can do that. "You don't know do you?" I shake my head. She grins, "Take that watch I gave you." Not a bad idea, its probably my nicest possession anyway.

**Rubye Rose Glitter:****  
><strong>  
>I wake up screaming. My mom comes running in and sits down next to me. "You okay?" she asks as she strokes my brown hair.<p>

"No! Of course I'm not," I snap, "Everything is perfectly fine!"

Exactly one year from today, my sister Samantha volunteered for the games. She never came back. That stupid girl from 10 sent an arrow straight through her head. The memory of it haunts me worse than anything else. I can see her now, the girl was small. She didn't look like she would survive past the first day. But she did. Every single arrow that left her bow killed someone. She didn't win, but she came really close. I cheered when the District 4 boy speared her on the last day.

Samantha and I were as close as sisters got. We did everything together: train, flirt with guys, laugh, and cry. There has been a hole in me ever since she left.

I quickly get dressed and put on Samantha's diamond heart necklace. Then I go to join my friends for the reapings.

The Capitol escort looks like a fluff of cotton candy. Her-his-its, I'm not really sure, skin is a frosty pink and there are glittery swirls covering it. But it is the outfit that makes it. It looks like swirling smoke, constantly moving in the breeze. It reads the Treaty of Treason in a weird accent and then walks over to the bowls of names.

"Quilla Tr-"

I don't even let her get the words out. "I volunteer!" I yell. She doesn't look surprised. No one looks surprised. We are District 1; there are always volunteers.

I'm sure most risk their lives for fame, glory, and wealth. Not me. I seek revenge against Samantha. That District 10 girl better watch out.

**Silver Manhatten:**

The girl walks confidently out to the stage. Her brown eyes flash with defiance as she tells the escort her name, "Rubye Glitter." Her voice is harsh and cutting. I have a feeling that our train ride won't be a pleasant trip.

"Onto the boys," the Capitol person chirps.

That's my cue. "I volunteer!" I say. The escort doesn't hear me, it just continues to grab a slip of paper. "I said I volunteer!" I shout. The escort drops the paper.

"And what's your name?"

"Silver Manhatten," I tell him with a scowl.

"District 1 here are your tributes!" the escort shouts as the crowd cheers. "Shake hands please," it hisses at us.

I reach out and grab Rubye's hand and squeeze it as tight as I can. She surprises me by doing the same. Let the Games begin.

**I know this was quick, but bear with me. I leave for vacay (no internet) in a couple days and I wanted to get at least one chapter up.**


	4. District 2 Reapings

**District 2! Thank you harrypotterfreak*insert random numbers* and Nightfall12. **

**Alex Lear:**

Whoosh!

The wind whistles through my ear as the sword's broad blade slashes by my face. I dodge the blow, and the blade only misses by a mere inch. I swing my own sword at my opponent who blocks it with a swift diagonal sweep. The clang of the swords echo in the otherwise silent room. We parry a bit and soon it falls into a fairly repetitive routine. He stabs and I block. I slash towards him and he deflects the weapon.

"What did I tell you about being predictable!" my opponent snaps.

"Not to be," I say as I spin around and kick the sword from his grasp. It clatters to the floor and before he can lunge for it, I have my sword at his throat. He smiles gruffly.

"Good one," he says. It might not seem like much but coming from Jonathon Lear, that is high praise.

My dad is somewhat of a hero of District 2. He won the Hunger Games back when he was only fifteen. Considering that the Careers that year were all eighteen and huge, that is quite a feat. Some say that he is one of the best Victors in the history of Panem. I believe them.

I've only seen the video once, but what my dad did filled me with awe. He kept a low profile, just barely hanging on the edge of the Careers. They were a pretty stupid lot. It took them a few days to realize that the average sized fifteen year old was the one to beat. But by then, it was too late. He had them all killed within twenty minutes. After that, he simply hunted down the weaker tributes. Game over.

"Again!" I tell him, waving my sword in front of his face.

"We don't have time. Go get ready." Whatever, he is just scared of losing again. Can't have the invincible Jonathon Lear be beaten by his kid.

**Absinthe Pryse:****  
><strong>  
>I guide my younger sister Aura down to towards the town square. I don't know what it's like in other districts, but here in 2 you can just feel the excitement in the air. Personally, I don't get it. The Hunger Games don't bring honor like so many people claim it does. It brings nothing but destruction and heartache. I should know. It wrecked my family and killed my father.<p>

Laughter fills the air as two little boys "duel" with wooden swords. The future idiots of District 2, let's give them a round of applause. Chances are that at least one of those kids are going to die in the arena.

I haven't trained since I was fourteen, four long years ago. But I instantly recognize the weaknesses in the taller boy's stance. If he doesn't balance himself, he will be stabbed. The sword was always my favorite weapon. I remember the days when my dad would guide me through the best defense techniques. I would try and try, but I could never get it until he took my hand and led me through the motion.

The very sword I practiced with became the death of my father. The Hunger Games mess with the mind. My dad "saw" things that weren't always there. One day, during practice he start screaming. It was a hideous, inhuman sound. It all happened so quickly. He ripped the sword from my hand. The long blade cut deep into my thigh and I felt the warm sticky blood run down my leg. He swung the sword around in long sweeping arcs at some unseen enemy. In a fit, he drove it into his abdomen. I screamed in terror as the bloodstained blade protruded from his back. The blood poured like a river, coating all the surrounding area in a red puddle.

"Abby!" Aura says impatiently as she drags me towards the eighteen year old section. Though she is three years younger than me, it seems like she takes care of me just as much as I care for her.

**Alex Lear:**

The Escort starts his speech. It seems to never end. Once he starts wrapping up, every muscle in my body tenses with excitement. Today is the day.

"I volunteer!" I yell before the blue skinned man even reaches the bowls. He looks ticked at my interruption.

"Isn't it a little bit early?" he asks as I march up the stairs.

"Nope," I tell him, "I'm winning this thing. Why waste time?"

"Well then, I guess I'll go onto the girls then." The man walks over and reaches his hand into the bowl full of paper slips. I don't know why they even bother with the "Reaping". No matter who is drawn, someone will volunteer for them.

The escort calls out the name, "Absinthe Pryse!" I'm shocked to hear that name. I don't really know her or anything, but she lives like two houses away from me in the Victor's Village. The few times I've seen her, she's been kind of bitchy in a really sarcastic way.

She doesn't look shocked or anything. Her face is a radiant calm as she walks up to the stage. She brushes her brown hair out of her face and smirks at me.

I size up my competition as I shake her hand. She is average height, but very slender. I know I can kill her no problem.

**Absinthe Pryse:**

Why does this have to happen to me? Why are there no volunteers scrambling to take my spot?

I'm not sure if I can handle this. What if I come back like my father, seeing things that aren't there? What if I don't come back at all?

**So, I have a vague idea of what I want the arena to be...but I can always use ideas. You are encouraged to send me arena, mutt, and chariot outfit ideas. Greatly appreciated!**

**Also, I did rearrange the chapters (taking out the form and whatnot), so it might not let you do a signed in review, sorry! I didn't think that through overly well.**


	5. District 3 Reapings

**District 3. The tribute's creators are Hollow-Kuchiki and handr4ever.****  
><strong>  
><strong>Katsu Mirehi:<strong>

I will be the first to say that I am not like other girls in District 3. I don't dream of boys, school, and inventions. I dream of blood, death, and pain. Let's just say that the Hunger Games would be a really nice place for me. A place where I would fit in and be understood. Here in this pit, I am just known as the psychotic brat.

I avoid my sister Kaelin on the way to the only mirror in the house. I stand in front of the cracked glass and gaze at myself. I take the hairbrush and run it through my dark brown hair, removing any slightest bit of a tangle or bump. I really wish that my hair was smoother and longer.

I find my light pink sundress and pull it on over my head. It fits a little bit tighter this year, but it will have to do. I would love to have those beautiful gowns that they have in the Capitol. The ones where the skirt flows around your legs. I sigh and tug the dress down a little lower to hide the scab on my knee.

"Hey Dad," I call to him. He's not a bad guy, when he is sober. He moans slightly and slumps down in a chair. It is pointless to try to talk to him right now, unless I wanted to get smacked.

I walk out the door to take hold of my life.

**West Greeter:**

The sun is shining in the bright blue sky. There's no school today. I'm outside walking with my friend Seth and my little sisters Sara and Emmy. This could be a wonderful day. Key word: could. If this was any day but Reaping Day it would be perfect.

I spoke too soon. Emmy trips over her own feet and skins her knee. A big tear wells up in the corner of her eye. I bend over, "You ok? What happened?"

Emmy sniffles a little bit and opens her mouth to say something but her words are cut off by maniacal laughter. Katsu is standing there taking pleasure in other's misery. That's nothing new. "What? Got a little cut? Deal with it kid," she says. I stand up quickly and glare at Katsu.

"Why do you have to be so mean? Emmy is four!" I snap at her.

"You need to loosen up. It's not the end of the world!" If Katsu wasn't a girl, I'd punch her right in the nose. Sad thing is, I'd really enjoy it too. I grit my teeth; Katsu just smiles and walks off. Gosh that girl gets on my nerves.

I scoop Emmy up and carry her to the square. After dropping her off with Mom, who was already there waiting, I head to the fifteen year old section for the Reapings.

**Katsu Mirehi:**

The Capitol escort drones on and on. Most would find it boring, but it still continues to fascinate me. The rebels, the passion, the blood...it's all good.

The green capitol lady walks over and reaches her arm into the girl's bowl.

I need to do this. I need to. I need to. I need to.

"I volunteer!" I scream as loudly as I can. Everyone is shocked. The whole crowd is craning their necks, trying to figure out where the voice came from. One after another, their eyes spot me. They don't look quite as surprised anymore.

I practically skip up to the stage. This is my chance to be free and be me. I'm not taking this opportunity lightly.

**West Greeter:**

Katsu literally dances her way out of the fourteen year old section. I think there is seriously something wrong with her. I hate to say this, but good riddance.

That is the most drama that District 3 has had in a long time. The escort looks happier than ever as she walks over to the boy's names. I watch all those papers float around in that giant glass bowl. Don't pick me. Please. I hold my breath along all the other eligible teens.

"West Greeter" the escort calls out in a sickening chipper voice. My name sounds so foreign right now. It takes a long minute to register in my mind. From this moment on, I'm a tribute. The thought terrifies me.

There can be worse things, I suppose. My little twelve year old sister Sara could've been reaped. She wouldn't stand anymore of a chance then I would. I'm so glad it's me and not her.

I've got to keep a strong face even though I'm not sure how much longer I can stand. On the inside I am trembling, as anyone in their right mind would be. Stay strong. Each step I take will bring me farther from home and closer to death. I grit my teeth together and take the first step.

**Yeah, I know it's short. I adore these characters, but they didn't exactly have a history that I could go deep into without it being long-winded and pointless. I hope I was able to get their personalities in there though.**

**Hey, I still need a District 8 guy (a bloodbath). I just need an appearance, basic personality, and reaping reaction. Someone? Please? Dang, you can't puppy pout through a computer! Pretty please?**

**NEVERMIND! I DON'T NEED ANYMORE!**


	6. District 4 Reapings

**Kk, long time no update. Sorry bout that. This one is short, I'll be honest. I just got home from vacay cuz my flight was cancelled and I had to spend the night at the airport and ended up pulling an all-nighter with some friends (involving a whole lotta tai fawn don, spoons, ninja, dance-offs, and running up the down escalator). In other words, I'm basically a zombie at the moment.**

**Well enough with my random rant: District 4 is up! **

**Crowe Garnet:**

"Let go!" I snap at the peacekeepers. One of them, a broad shouldered man, has an iron grip on my wrist as he drags me through the streets towards my small ramshackle house on the beach.

"Do you want to go to jail?" he asks quite seriously.

"Sure, why not! It's better than anywhere else at the moment." I mean it. I really do. I ran away, well attempted to runaway, for a reason.

Ever since Mom died of that weird disease, my Dad changed. He used to be a kind and loving man but not anymore. He loses himself in his work. I don't know if it's from depression or what. I used to be able to talk to him. Now, I am just a nuisance in his life. My younger brothers aren't much better.

"You don't mean that," he says a little bit softer this time.

"The Quell I do!"

He laughs gruffly, but turns around towards town. Okay, I didn't really mean it! Crap!

"Are you really taking me to prison?" I ask nervously. I really don't like this idiot peacekeeper!

"No, but you do have to go to the Reaping, remember?" Oh yeah, that little thing where I watch while Careers make fools of themselves. Fun, fun.

**Dexter "D.C." Codes:**

I wake up to the sound of music. It is oddly peaceful. So I'm definitely not still dreaming. I storm out of my room and down the long, ornate hallway. I stop in front of my younger brother Ezra's room. Yep, the annoying sound is definitely coming from there.

I throw open the door with a loud crash. The scrawny kid leaps two feet into the air and drops the guitar. "What are you doing, freak?" I yell at him. He starts to stutter out an answer, but I interrupt him, "Why are you messing with that junk instead of training?"

"I'm, um," he sighs, "You know? I can't really believe that we're related." I have to agree with him on that one. The shrimp can't even wield a knife!

"Tell me about it," I mutter as I head downstairs for breakfast. My mentors, also known as parents, are sitting at the table discussing past Games and Victors. It's a common subject in my household. That's what you get when you have the Victor of the 54th Hunger Games as a dad and the Victor of the 57th as your mom.

I'm not in the mood to hear about past Games. I'm ready for these Games, my Games. I'm going to be the next Codes Victor.

I head to the Reapings just in time to hear the girl's name be called. "Do we have a Crowe Garnet here?" the escort shouts.

A tall, thin girl exits the sixteen year old section. I could probably snap her in half easily. I don't think that she is a Career, she's doesn't have that, I don't know what to call it, confidence to her.

I see several other girls just waiting to pounce on the opportunity to volunteer. But the girl, Crowe, just raises her hand and says, "I'm not changing my fate, I'm the new tribute. Don't even think about volunteering."

**Crowe Garnet:**

I can't believe it. I am standing on the stage. What did I get myself into?

I don't have much time to think about it. The escort, who appears to love 4 with her seaweed hair and scaly skin, walks over to pretend to draw for the boy.

Lo and behold, a volunteer. Oh wow, he is scary looking! I didn't realize that a seventeen year old can be so huge. In addition to more muscles than I imagined possible, he has a wicked scar running down his face. I shudder. I'm going to have to fight this monster.

He saunters confidently up to the stage and tells Shelly, the escort, his name: "Dexter Codes, but you can call me D.C."

Shelly looks down right excited, "That wouldn't happen to be THE Codes, would it?"

He smirks at her, "Of course it is."

Shelly practically squeals, "District 4 we have our tributes!"

D.C. turns to look at me. He eyes me appraisingly; I feel awkward now. He smiles as he hisses just loud enough for me to hear, "You're going down, Crowe." He spits out my name with disdain. This can't be good.

**Okay, thanks to Nightfall12, Hollow-Kuchki, Temerice, and packman23 we have our final tribute of the games. I combined peices of all submiters to make Fray Lancing! Hope ya'll don't mind!**

**Apparently no one like District 3's Katsu...well every story has at least one character that you love to hate!**


	7. District 5 Reapings

**District 5 is here! Tributes courtesy of TheCritic and handr4ever. **

**Echo Drifting:**

This can't be true. This can't be true. This can't be true.

How is this possible? It happened: the unthinkable. It is the thing that keeps everyone on pins and needles. It is the thing that strikes terror into all, both old and young, strong and weak. It is the inescapable. It came to me.

"Where is a Miss Echo Drifting?" the silver Capitol man called out. He doesn't sound as excited and preppy as other escorts does. Instead, his voice reflects what this means. Doom.

I feel my face freeze and then slowly fall. The corners of my mouth, which are always up in a smile, sink down.

What is wrong with me? I can't be sad. I can't. There has got to be a plus side to this. I bounce up to the stage as I think. Hmmm...I get to see the extravagant, glorious Capitol this way. I will experience things I've never tried, or dreamed of, before. I will get a makeover. I've never had one of those, but they sound amazing.

What the crap. Who am I kidding? This is the worst possible thing that can happen to me! I scan the crowd, looking for a familiar face among the masses. My eyes meet with my mom's blue grey eyes. My eyes are the exact same color and shape as hers. I wonder if they are showing the same fear as well.

I try to swallow, but my throat gets caught.

**Jeremy Soraks**

These Games are so useless. The only thing they are good for is giving us a day off of school.

The deep voice of the escort goes on. And on. And on. And on...I've heard this speech so many times it's funny. I mouth the words of the Treaty of Treason in perfect sync of the Capitol man. It isn't long before the sixteen year old section is laughing.

One thing I now know: laughing during this is not a smart idea. The escort glares over in my general direction. Peacekeepers pace the area, looking for who knows what. Everyone is on edge.

The silver man reaches into the bowl of girl names and calls out the name "Echo Drifting". The girl walks out of the eighteen year old pen. That must suck. She was so close to being free of the Reapings.

She is kinda pretty. I feel bad for the guy who will have to stab her. She shakily brushes her dark curls out of her face. Amazing. Somehow, she doesn't look to overly scared, other than the slight tremble in her face. She holds herself together better than last year's girl, who broke down into tears.

The man gives her a sympathetic glance and then walks over to the guy names to condemn someone else.

"Jeremy Soraks" Oh shit. I can't be hearing that right. He did not just say that. But he did.

Ok. Let's do this thing. I can't fight fate.

**Echo Drifting**

I feel a hand wrapped around mine and there is a quick reassuring squeeze. My feet move forward without any real conscious thought. I move slowly down steps and somehow I end up sitting down on a couch.

I'm not exactly sure where I am at this point of time. Wherever I am, it's more luxurious than any place I've ever been.

Voices echo in the distance and I can barely make out the words in the hum. I open my eyes and see my father standing before me. When did he get here?

"Be strong, Echo," he says gently. I can hardly comprehend what is going on. It's a blur as his arm reaches out and wraps around me tightly in a hug. I can feel the embrace, but it seems distant.

My face feels wet. I reach up and touch the tears running down my face. I hold up my finger and see the tiny droplet of water balanced on it. I'm crying. How am I going to handle this?

Next time I open my eyes, there is a boy in front of me. Who is he? Why is he here? He isn't anyone I know. His dark, almost black eyes bore into me.

"Hey, you okay?" he asks softly. I shake my head and he awkwardly gives me a hug. "It's gonna be fine. We'll make it out of this, promise," he smiles widely.

Somehow, even though I know he is wrong, I believe him.

**Jeremy Soraks**

Everyone in the train is so dang serious. It's wrong. Echo is crying her head off. I feel bad, but there is nothing I can do. She is distancing herself from people at the moment.

The food at dinner is better than anything I've ever tasted. If I could get more than five words out of these people, it would be great. There is no sense of humor here and it's starting to be annoying. I hope tomorrow will be a whole heck of a lot better, though I doubt it at the moment.

**Ok, I changed my standard "intro, reap, over" format. I needed to change my writing a bit. Some will start off at the Reapings like this one. Some will be like the others.**


	8. District 6 Reapings

**District 6! Thank you DestinedForGreatness and Temerice!**

**Darcy Plear**

I stretch my arms above my head, trying to get that morning stiffness out of them. I really need to find a better place to sleep. I mean, seriously, the street isn't too overly bad, but it would be nice to find somewhere a little bit more comfy.

I stand up, brush the little bit of dust off my jeans and start walking towards the bakery. The fresh warm scent beckons me. The man behind the counter looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to buy something. I would, if I had the money. But I don't. I walk over to a display of cakes and just stare at them. Waiting.

Less than a moment later, someone calls from the back of the room and the man leaves. Perfect timing! I leap over the counter grab a couple loaves of bread and exit the shop. Breakfast is served.

I head over to Melanie's. She has a house-shack is a better word for it -but her family is so large I can't dream of adding to that.

"Mel?" I yell into the door. I almost get trampled by the twins running out of the house. She follows shortly behind.

"I'm nervous," she whispers. It kinda amazes me that we are friends. We are such opposites sometimes.

"'Bout what?"

"Don't act like that! You know what."

"Oh my gosh! You saw Jason yesterday! Didja talk to him...for once?"

She grins and shoves me, "Shut up Darcy! And no, I didn't," she giggles. Her face goes all serious, "Don't you worry about the Reapings?"

"Nope" I say honestly.

**Rayd Wister**

Last year eligible. Than after that, I'm free. If my birthday was a month earlier, I wouldn't be standing here right now.

A lady walks up onto the stage. Her hair stands tall, giving her an additional three feet of height. I wonder how she balances with it. She talks for a little bit and then walks over to the girl's bowl of names.

"Melanie Mae!" she calls out. Oh no, she is a tiny thing. She won't stand a chance. But of course, no one in District 6 really has a shot at survival.

A voice cuts through the crowd. That's something you don't hear often. "I volunteer!" a girl screams. You can hear the misery and desperation in her voice. It almost breaks your heart hearing it.

I see her hair, a bright red signal fire, before anything else. She is fairly tall, considering she is coming from the fourteen year old section. The Capitol lady just grins at this and has the girl introduce herself. "I'm Darcy Plear," the girl says with a confidence that contrasts with the situation.

District 6's mentor for this year Aidan Hill watches Darcy with an appraising eye. He seems pleased with what he sees. So maybe, hopefully, this girl will make it back.

The escort struts over to the guy's names and slowly, dramatically pulls out a single piece of paper. She smoothes it out than reads, "Rayd Wister!"

Someone places a hand on my back. I stare at him blankly for a minute, before he shoves me in the direction of the stage. Right, I forgot how to move there for a second.

I stand up on the stage and stare out among the crowd of people, who are all glad that it is me and not them.

I reach out my hand for the customary handshake. It's trembling slightly. Nerves I guess. I grasp her warm hand and she gives it a quick shake, not meeting my eyes.


	9. District 7 Reapings

**District 7. tributes courtesy of packman23 (thing 1) and Radioactive Raven**

**Reeve Solomon**

"What 'bout Lillian?" Crow asks bluntly, interrupting me. Lillian is my current, and stable, girlfriend. Just 'cause I have a girlfriend does not mean I can't talk to other, preferably hot, girls.

"She dump you yet, Ree-Ree?" Ray asks as she climbs up onto the fence rail next to me.

"Don't get your hopes up. They've been dating a WHOLE month. That's kind of like a record for Reeve," Mort says snarkily. Hey, there is nothing wrong with playing the field a bit.

"Ray-Ray and Ree-Ree were never meant to be," Crow laughs. Ray leans over and smacks him.

Mort just rolls his eyes, "You guys are a bunch of idiots."

"I have to agree with Mort for once," I laugh. Seriously, my friends are kind of crazy sometimes. When I say sometimes, I mean all the time. "Where was I?" I ask. Their stupid comments got me distracted there for a minute.

"Something about you saving that chick from a wolf..."

Right. Forgot 'bout that there for a minute. Maybe it's not completely true. But hey, I needed some fun goin' on here. People will believe anything. I once convinced the storekeeper that I fell out of a fifty foot tree and that I was miraculously unharmed. He gave me free candy for a week. Good times, good times.

Ray leaps off the fence. "Where ya goin'?" I ask her. She smiles and leans closer. I take one her curls and mess with it: twirling it and pulling it lightly.

She giggles slightly (and Ray NEVER just giggles), "Um, the Reapings"

"The huh?"

"Reapings, stupid," Mort rolls his eyes, "You know, the thing where kids get condemned to fight to the death." Right...I knew that.

"You coming Ree-Ree," Crow says, mocking the way Ray says my name.

I roll my eyes and get up to follow them. We shove our way through the crowded town square. The multitudes are completely silent in anticipation, it's weird.

A funny accent calls out, "Cascade Price"

A cute girl walks slowly up to the stage. Her thin hand reaches up to wipe away a single tear. Aw, poor thing. If it wasn't for this deal, I'd ask her out.

Wait, take back that last comment. A guy runs out and hugs her tightly. Yep, definitely the overprotective asshole boyfriend.

**Cascade Price**

Donnie wraps his strong arms around me. For the briefest second, I feel safe. But then I remember my situation. I am a tribute now.

I climb the wooden stairs as slowly as I can. The Capitol escort looks at me with disdain as I wipe my last tear away. Why do they have to be so heartless?

I zone out when the escort grabs the boy's name, "Reeve Solomon!"

Wow, and I thought I reacted bad! This guy, a strong seventeen year old, starts bawling his eyes out. He seems to pass out for a second or two before a friend of his pulls him to his feet.

Something appears to click in his brain, maybe it's the fact that he is on live national television. He straightens up and marches up to the stage.

Reeve stands next to me and reaches out for my hand. I grasp it, ready for any support.

Instead of just shaking my hand quickly, he pulls me in close and plants a huge kiss on me. On the lips! His other hand rests on my back and pulls me in closer. After a too short second, he lets go and steps back.

Despite the fact that I'm terrified, the fact that I will die in a matter of days, and the fact that I have a boyfriend I'm lost in this moment.

**Yep...**

**Other stories I've read has badass District 7 tributes. And what do I get? Crybabies!**


	10. District 8 Reapings

**wow, can't believe I'm over halfway done with these now! **

**Thanks randomgirl18 for Annastell. A huge ginormous thank you to packman23/Nightfall12/Hollow-Kuchki/Temerice (that's a lot!) who all sent me a D8 guy after I requested a bloodbath. I combined bits from each of you and I hope I'm able to get pieces of all your submissions in!**

**Enough rambling...on to District 8!**

**Annastell Hubert**

"Let me help you with that," I run and grab the stack of yarn from my mother's grasp. She smiles and motions for me to set them on the table near her chair. As soon as I set the skeins down, the familiar click-clack-click of her knitting needles fills the room.

Usually, this is the only sound that's in our home. My mom can't speak do to an accident and neither my younger brother Alex or I are big talkers. Silence can be, and is, peaceful.

"I'm heading outside," I say softly, as I grab a freshly made blanket to sell. Mom looks up and nods, then turns back to her knitting.

I don't walk long before I find Toby who is my client, and maybe, my friend. "You want this?" I ask.

He teasingly examines it, scrunches his nose and in a mock business tone asks, "Same price, Ms Hubert?"

I smile lightly, "Of course." He grins back that dreamy, heart-breaking smile. I inwardly sigh.

"Then I'll take it. Pleasure doing business with you," he nods his head and walks back towards his house.

I turn down the road to pick up Alex from his friend's house and then we make our way to the District's center.

**Fray Lancing**

Today is the day! I'm finally going to do it. I will not chicken out like I have a million other times.

She walks by. I open my mouth to say something, anything to her. Nothing comes out. I failed yet again. Why can't I say a single word to her?

She is perfect in every way from her wavy light brown hair to her large captivating green eyes that are always on my mind. So I have a minor, okay maybe a little bit more than minor, crush on Annastell. There is nothing wrong with that!

I follow her to the Reapings. That just sounded stalker-ish. That's not what I meant. I was heading there anyway due to, you know, the whole mandatory: if you're not there we'll imprison you thing.

I join the other thirteen year olds in our section and listen as the Capitol man gives his customary speech. I doze off halfway through but am startled awake by the name I least likely want to hear, "Annastell Hubert!"

Something in me just died. My heart is pounding wilder than it would if I had been the one chosen. My throat goes dry. Annastell. I might never see her again!

Her usually serious face cracks slightly under the pressure. She's scared. I'm scared for her! Why did it have to be Annastell of all the people here?

**Annastell Hubert**

My name drawn. I never imagined that it would be me. I'm sure that everyone fated to this thinks the same, except for maybe those crazy enough to volunteer. It's an understatement to say that I'm scared.

The Capitol man walks over and grabs a piece of paper to doom yet another.

"Fray Lancing!" he calls out to the nervous crowd.

A small mouse-like boy looks as though he had just seen a ghost. The color drains from his face as he walks towards the stage. Poor kid. He is younger than me by two years. I always hate to see twelve and thirteen year olds reaped. It's wrong. Just plain wrong.

He looks up and there's small dimples in his cheeks as he smiles, not a smile of joy but of sadness and fear.


	11. District 9 Reapings

**I'm gonna be honest, as soon as I saw TheSkyCries' tribute I was both excited and terrified. **

**In the books, District 9 had no set industry mentioned. So I'm going with what TheSkyCries suggested (with a few tweaks of my own). I'm not sure how well this is going to turn out. Hope it works!**

There's a good reason this District's industry is unknown: there is none, other than the twisting of the innocents for evil. One thing that stands out in District 9 is the stone. Various shapes, sizes, and colors fill the landscape. But it isn't just rocks; it is also the people.

Over the years, the denizens of District 9 evolved into 'stone people'. As all know, stone itself is cold and emotionless. The odd thing is that the people are exactly the same, other than the fact that they breathe and have piercing eyes. Their bright blue eyes are cold with fury, filled with so much passion but yet so dead. The flames are sill burning, but how much longer can that last?

Everyone in District 9 would be considered strange. Some might believe it is from the factory pollution from the surrounding Districts 3, 5, and 8. Very few, the elite of District 9, know the real truth. The truth that haunts and destroys many people.

Deep, deep underground in dark twisting corridors the Capitol hid their secrets. Secrets that literally curdles the blood. In these hidden chambers, the mutts are created. They are created only to destroy.

The fumes messed with not only the new creatures, but also the people living in 9. The people became mutations but much worse than one could imagine. They are monsters in their own right...

**Slice****  
><strong>  
>I know what is right and what is wrong and even though I don't care. In some ways, I do care for what I know is wrong. I'm doing wrong now. My whole life has been filled with the wrong I've done. But that doesn't stop me. Nothing stops me.<p>

My target might actually be a challenge for once. This man is paranoid, though one would have to paranoid if he was a leader of one of the more notorious "organizations", better known as gangs.

Killing is second nature to me, as it should be considering my job is that of an assassin.

The man's shadowy form is in the mouth of the alleyway. It seems easy, almost too easy. Oh well.

I creep three steps forward and kick his legs out from under him. He falls to the ground with a thud. The man's fist comes up and tries to hit me, but I grab his arm and snap it. He screams in pain.

Screams are not good. They reveal locations. I take my knife and simply slit his throat. His cries are cut off in a quick gurgle. I haul the body out of sight and wipe the blood off my hands. Another job done.

I walk along the stone strewn streets towards District 9's town square. Silence fills the area. Everyone's face is that of straight uncaring.

There is a pale skinned, gold-eyed freak giving a speech. He talks about the Hunger Games. There is something not right about the whole thing, but I can't quite place what it is.

He walks over to a giant glass bowl full of paper slips. He grabs one and calls out the name written on it. "Slice"

That is my name. Based on the description I just heard about the Games, I should be terrified, or at the very least, worried. But I'm not. There is nothing.

**Mackensie Marble**

It's hard to believe that I'm still alive sometimes. This is a place full of violence, deaths happen everyday and everywhere. It doesn't matter who you are, if you breathe you have a chance of being killed. I just try to stay undercover and under the radar. So far, it works.

I slip silently into the twelve year old section at the Reaping. No one notices me.

No one notices me that is, until they call my name. All eyes turn to me. I am the center of attention.

So much work to stay unnoticed and to stay alive and it all goes down the drain with a single slip of paper.


	12. District 10 Reapings

**Thanks a lot to CoffeeTarts who provided me with these lovely tributes. I had to use your quotations; they were too perfect to just leave. **

**Sammy Jester:**

The sheep dumbly follow one another into their pen. I give the last one, a stubborn ewe, a shove to get her past the gate. I slam the rough worn fencing shut and lock it. One job down. Life at the farm never ends. I know for a fact that town people get to sleep in 'cause it's Reaping Day. Not me, I grab the bucket of grain and skip off towards the chicken coop.

After I feed the chickens I run to the house. The mud splatters up behind me, speckling my legs brown. I almost make it to the door when my foot hits a slick spot and I slide onto my knees.

"Slow down, honey," my mom absently says as she sidesteps around me. I roll my eyes. It takes a lot more than a little bit of mud to slow me down.

I throw open the door and go up to my room. After rummaging in my dresser for a minute I find what I was searching for: one of my nicer outfits. I pull on the clean white blouse and step into the denim shorts. I don't have to look for my shoes; I know right where they are. My favorite boots are worn down with age and love. They have just the slightest bit of a heel, which gives me a little bit of extra height.

"Aren't those a little bit, um, short?" a voice asks. I turn and see Jeff leaning against the door frame. Apparently he isn't getting too dressed up for the reapings. He's wearing black jeans and his normal green shirt.

"Huh?"

"Those," he says, pointing at my pants.

"No," I reply.

"If you weren't a dwarf, they would be."

First off, let me say that 5'1 isn't all that short! "Shut up," I tell him.

"It's true," he says. I know he is only teasing, but it still hurts. But of course he doesn't stop there, "Maybe you should drink Melvin's milk, get some growth in you."

Melvin is my cow that I raised since he was a calf. "Melvin's a boy, dumb nut!" I snap at him.

"Whatever," he says with a small smile, "Com'on, we're going to be late"

**Jeff Jester:**

We start up the path towards the town square, taking a long detour away from the chickens. Those things are evil. Sammy runs ahead and then doubles back, and then skips along next to me. Even though she is sixteen, she has more energy than most little kids. Her pace slows down after a couple minutes.

"Hey Jeff?" I look at her and she continues after a quick pause, "You know what I think?"

"You think that you smell like sheep?"

She sticks her tongue out at me. Her face goes all serious, "The Capitol needs to find better things to do than making a 'game' where children are thrown in to die. That's despicable. And the Games need to be banished. The president needs a head check too..." she starts rambling.

I agree with her, but this is dangerous talk. I need to stop it. First thing that comes to mind, "They're a bunch of sickos." Sammy looks up at me and grins.

I watch her caramel colored pony tail weave its way through the crowd to her section. I turn to go to the seventeen year old pen, but crash into Brandon.

"You ever gonna let me ask her out?" he asks. Brandon is my friend, but the thought of him with Sammy- any guy with Sammy for that matter- just sickens me.

"Nope," I say.

"She's not a little kid anymore. When are you going to stop being the bad guy and let her get a life?"

"She does have a life. It just doesn't involve losers like you." Or any loser guy.

"Whatever," he mutters as the Capitol escort steps up on the stage.

**Sammy Jester:**

The Capitol lady is crazy looking! Cheyenne Woodsy has been District 10's escort for the past few years. Apparently she's grown close to the herding district. She has purple cow spots all over her peachy pink skin. I wouldn't be surprised if next year she comes back with a tail!

As she starts her standard speech, I look nervously at the giant bowls of names. I'm not too worried about me. I'm more worried about Jeff; he takes all the tesserae. He won't share the load. I stand there for what seems like hours. The girl next to me gently places her foot on mine to stop it from tapping. Oops.

Cheyenne finally starts wrapping up and head's over to the girl's bowl with a chipper, "Ladies first!" She reaches in and dramatically digs around. She grabs a small slip of paper and draws it out.

"And our lucky lady for this year is," she pauses, building the tension, "Samantha Jester!"

No way. This can't be happening. I take a long deep breath. There are sure to be cameras searching for my face. I smile as brightly as I can and start to head to the stage. Slow deep breaths, keep smiling, breathe, Sammy, breathe.

I reach the stage and wave to the crowd. There is nothing else I can do.

**Jeff Jester:**

"Samantha Jester, Samantha Jester, Samantha Jester," my sister's name keeps on echoing through my head. This can't be true. This has to be a dream, no, a nightmare. My little sister is going into the Hunger Games.

She smiles brightly as she almost skips up to the stage. She looks quite confident, I'm sure I'm the only one who caught the slight tremble in her hazel eyes.

Cheyenne chirps, "Now onto the boys!" That is it. I was hoping in the deepest depths of my heart that someone would volunteer, even though I knew it was impossible.

The escort smoothes the piece of paper in her pink hands and calls out the name, "Jeffery Jester!"

The world goes out of focus as the words sink into my brain. She just called my name. My sister is up there. No matter what happens, only one of us can make it back. There is no way I could ever kill her. The ground rocks beneath me. I steady myself and take an uneasy step forwards.

The guy in front of me chuckles. I swing out my fist. That was stupid. I move too fast and end up throwing up instead. I shake my head to remove the blurriness and then walk up towards the stage, towards Sammy, towards death.

I'm not sure how, but I make up the stairs. As soon as I reach the top, Sammy throws her arms around me in a hug.

Cheyenne stares at us for a minute, "Are you dating?" The crowd erupts in a nervous laughter.

I open my mouth to say something but I choke and just shake my head. Sammy's face screws up, "No! He's my brother!"

Sammy and I don't exactly look alike, but still. Dating? We have the same last name for crying out loud!

Cheyenne breaks the awkward silence with an, "Oh, well this is going to be dramatic! District 10, I give you your tributes!"


	13. District 11 Reapings

**District 11. Tributes courtesy of Goddess of nightmares and Radioactive Raven.**

**Nala Wheat**

I sit down at our table. Since I took advantage of my day off by sleeping in, Dad and Cotton already beat me there. It's weird to see Dad at this time; usually he's been in the fields for hours by now.

"What's for breakfast?" Cotton asks impatiently.

"What do you expect? It's going to be oatmeal, just like always," I snap at her. When is she going to realize that we can't afford anything better? She's ten already! I was younger than she was when I started working to provide for this family. And what does she do? Nothing.

"Calm down Nala," Dad says as he spoons, you guessed it, oatmeal into the three bowls in front of him. I watch him deliberately give more to Cotton. I raise my eyebrows at him is disbelief. He doesn't meet my eyes as he explains, "She needs the most; Cotton is weaker and more vulnerable than you are."

Weaker? It's only because she does absolutely nothing! I know the truth in his words though.

"You only do it 'cause she looks like Mom!" I snap at him. It would be true, if Mom was still alive. But no, Cotton had to come along and kill her.

"Nala!" My dad snaps back.

"What!" I yell, scooting my chair away from the table.

He doesn't answer. How can he answer?

I stand up and storm out the door. Where am I going? Anywhere away from them. I wander around aimlessly for awhile before realizing where I've come: the fields. Though I technically work there, it is also a place of refuge for me. It's a place of sunshine and growth.

I'd stay there all day if it wasn't for those darn reapings. It's just another horrible reminder that the Capitol doesn't really care about us in the Districts. All they care about is their wealth and power.

**Buffet Jacobi**

I write the last words of the Mayor's speech down. After that, I'm done for the day. I am lucky. Unlike most people in District 11, I have a future ahead of me. I might only be a secretary, but I'm climbing my way up. Maybe one day, I'll be mayor of this place.

I fold up my papers and lock the doors of the Justice Building behind me. The building won't be used again until the poor reaped kids get to say their goodbyes. Granted, there is a chance that I might be that person. But that chance is very slim.

I walk through the door of my home and is instantly greeted by Nesh, my little sister. She runs up and gives me a huge hug. From the corner, Cane smiles widely at me. He is a small kid but at fourteen, he is way too old to be enthusiastic about his older brother coming home.

I feel bad. We used to be so close. But then he started being a monkey in the orchards and I got my job working for the mayor. I think he resents that fact. I try to make it up to him when I can, but it's hard.

"Com'on, kid," I say, "Wanna go with me to the Reapings?" A wide smile crosses his face as he scampers to his feet and runs out the door.

**Nala Wheat**

A freaky looking lady stands on the stage. Her pink skin glistens in the sunlight and golden tattoos disfigure her face and arms. She looks excited at the prospect of her job. I would despise the task, dooming people to death. She rambles on about the Hunger Games. It's the same old stuff every year. That is until she grabs the girl's paper.

My name echoes over the hushed crowd. Oh shit. That can't be good.

I make sure I have an emotionless face as I walk up the stairs to the stage. Those Capitol people are like bloodhounds trying to find the trail of fear. Of course I'm scared. I'm freaking terrified! But no one can know that. If someone knew that, I would be devoured within the first day of the Games.

**Buffet Jacobi**

Nala stands up on the stage, chewing her bottom lip as if it was the only thing keeping her alive. Maybe it is, I don't know.

The pink lady grabs a slip of paper and calls out the boy's name: "Cane Jacobi!"

No. Cane. It can't be Cane. My brother. Little brother. Small kid. No. It can't be. But it is. Cane.

I should volunteer. I'm older than him by three years. I might have a chance. I should volunteer for him.

I almost raise my hand. Key word: almost. I'm so close. So close. But I don't. I have a future here. I have a good job, a beautiful girlfriend, a hope for a better life. The Games only bring death.

Cane walks by me and his dark eyes stare me down. I look away. I can't do it. He looks so hurt standing up there on the stage. He is smiling, but I know that isn't his real smile. He is gritting his teeth together tightly.

"Your tributes, District 11!" the escort cries out. Then she quickly ushers them off the stage and out of site.

No. I should've done it. I should've volunteered for him. My throat closes up and I feel my eyes start to water. I could've saved him. But I didn't. What kind of brother am I?

**Cane Jacobi**

I sink down into the chair in the Justice Building. There is nothing I can do. I thought for sure that Buffet would volunteer for me. I can't believe he didn't. How far does love go? Can it really save?

I guess not. I am sitting here. Buffet is free, and will still be alive by the end of the month!

The Hunger Games could be fun, an exciting adventure in a new land. Well, it could be fun if it didn't involve 23 innocent teens dying. There must be some pretty twisted people in the Capitol.


	14. District 12 Reapings

**LAST ONE! District 12. Thank you MarchToMyOwnDrum and Temerice.**

**Trip Moors**

I open my eyes to take in the world around me. You never realize how you take some basic things for granted, until it's gone. It's amazing, for the first half of my life I was unable to see. The world was dark to me. I could hear people around me, but I could never place the voices with a face.

Sure, my sight isn't the best now; I have to wear glasses to see anything farther than five feet away from me. But I can see.

Of course, sight isn't always a blessing. More often than not, it is a curse. I see the pain of the people around me. I see the poverty of District 12. I see the regret in my mother's eyes every time she looks at me: her disaster of a child.

But all this is minor compared to the worst sight of all. It scars my memory and haunts my thoughts, both night and day. The death of my younger, helpless sister Kiri. What makes it worse is that I know it's all my fault.

Kiri was always different. She was born disabled-just like me-but hers crippled her more than my blindness did me. She was born with half of her limbs missing, leaving her with only one arm and one leg to survive with.

Many people died on that horrible day, but Kiri was the only one that mattered. She was only six years old. The peacekeepers held her small weak body for all to see. Seconds later, she was limp, full of bullets.

My throat catches at the thought. It was all my fault, and yet she received the punishment. I choke back the sobs, just like I do every other time.

**Samuel Austen**

"Do I have too?" I ask.

"We don't ask you to do all that much around here," my dad starts. I know how it ends: "So get your sorry butt moving and do it."

"Fine," I mutter and run off to grab the tub of water for my mom.

I drag the heavy tub up the stairs to our apartment. Just as I make it to where my mom is kneeling, scrubbing out the stains in miner's overalls, the water splashes over the edge. It burns!

"Crap! Ouch, ouch!" I yell.

"What's the matter now?" my mom asks.

"I just burnt myself! My hand is going to lose all feeling!"

"It's fine," she says as she examines my hand, "Quit being such a pessimist"

"It's better to be a pessimist than an optimist," I mutter, "If you're a pessimist, you're always right or pleasantly surprised."

She just laughs at me. I roll my eyes and walk away.

**Trip Moors**

I walk through the streets of the Seam to the Reapings. No one talks to me as I walk by. No one ever does. I hear their whispers though. They say I shouldn't be alive. They say I am nothing but trouble. They say I am just like my father. They may be right. I don't know.

I walk into the area roped off for fifteen year olds and stand there, waiting.

The escort walks over and calls out the girl's name, "Emilee Trishe!"

Oh no. A little thirteen year old girl, a well loved thirteen year old girl, walks slowly towards the stage. The crowd around me starts muttering and you can feel the tension in the air.

Not again. It won't happen again. I have to stop this.

"I volunteer!" I yell as loudly as I can. This is my chance to fight for the right to live and the right to be free.

**Samuel Austen**

Trip runs up to the stage and stands there, looking strangely confident. I don't know why, she's just going to be dead in a matter of a week or so. If she's lucky, maybe she'll last a little bit longer. But that's just luck.

I wait for the boy to be called. Watch as it's me.

"Samuel Austen!"

Oh shit. Just my luck. I was right. I so knew this was going to happen. Bad stuff always happens, there's no avoiding it.

**Done with the Reapings! Done with the Reapings! Yeah!**

**I'm setting up a poll on my profile...vote for your fave tributes (please don't be an asshole and vote for your own). Winner may be exempt from the upcoming bloodbath...**


	15. Opening Ceremonies Part 1

**Reapings are done...onto the opening ceremonies!**

"And we're live in five, four..." the producer switches to just mouthing the words and holding up his fingers in correspondence.

A man in a suit winks at the camera, "Hello Panem," he pauses as the people in the streets cheer, "Welcome to the Opening Ceremonies of the 80th Annual Hunger Games!" again the crowd goes crazy. As they should, it is their favorite event of the year, and for the people in the Capitol that's saying a lot. "I'm Jays Clark with HGBC news and I,"

"And me! Angel Hart! With Vogue Fashion!" an overly chipper young woman butts in.

Clark rolls his eyes at the interruption and then continues, "Yes, and Angel, are going to be giving commentary exclusively on the Hunger Games Broadcasting Station. We'll be right back after a quick word from our sponsors."

He loses the smile as soon as the camera turns off. Pink and blue prep teams swarm the hosts, fixing a stray hair here and touching up the teal eyeliner there.

"And we're back. For those of you just tuning in, you haven't missed a thing. This year's tributes should be rounding the corner in less than a minute. Ah, here comes District 1 now!"

The crowd erupts in cheers as the first chariot comes into view. District 1 is always a crowd favorite. Not only are they Careers that put on a good show, but they also have a history of winning. Both tributes have a glare on their face as they ride through the streets.

"Oh. My. Gosh." Angel squeals, "Just look at those outfits! I have got to get me a pair of heels like that! How gaga-esque and so very retro!"

The heels in question were at least eight inches tall, and just glistening with jewels. Well, everything about District 1 was glittering. Their whole outifts were composed entirely of jewels and sheet metal. Amazing how the girl tribute is keeping her dress from falling lower than it needs to be.

Clark gives his spew, "Well Panem here are your District 1 tributes: Silver Manhatten and Rubye Glitter. Angel," the fashion editor doesn't respond, "Angel?" Again nothing. "Angel!" he practically yells.

"What?" she asks absent mindedly

"Pay attention!"

"I am paying attention! To who really matters right now! Team Sparkle!"

He sighs, "We're supposed to be talking about them right now, not staring jealously at articles of clothing."

"Right...so what about them?"

"Doesn't Rubye look familiar?"

"Is she supposed to?"

Clark shoots a quick glare at the producer who shrugs. The commentator sighs, yet again, and says, "Remember Samantha Glitter of last year? She made it to the top 8, before she was killed." Angel nods excitedly, looking somewhat like an impatient preschooler. "Rubye is her little sister."

"Oooooooh. That makes sense," Angel says trying to look smart for once. It failed. She decides to take over and rips the notes out of Clark's hand, "Silver is apparently very talented at the Career Youth Program in District 1. Usually they only allow seventeen or eighteen year olds volunteer, but he is only fifteen! I expect a lot from that frowny faced cutie!"

Clark is on verge of smacking the airhead; he is really going to have a long talk with his manager after this. But he keeps his "tv smile" on as he calls out, "Here come the District 2 horses."

Angel immediately starts commentating, on the outfits, "Oh it looks like a sexy peacekeeper look. If the peacekeeper on my street looked like Alex, I would, like, go be a criminal. Just look at those muscles, yow!"

Clark interrupts before Angel gets in too much trouble, "Both of these tributes are the kids of Victors. Alexander is the son of Jonathon Lear..."

"THE Jonathon Lear?"

"Is there any other one? And Absinthe's father is Garrett Pryse..."

"Didn't he commit suicide?" Clark grits his teeth. That is information that the Districts are forbidden to hear. Sure, everyone in the Capitol knows juicy Victor gossip, but the Districts can't know that stuff. It would just be fuel for another rebellion! Angel just needs to stop interrupting him.

Ah, the perfect distraction: amazing outfits from District 3. They are unlike any that Clark and Angel had seen before. Katsu was wearing a short simple black dress and West had a suit of the same material. Different, it's so, well, understated. Wait! As the crowd cheers, the outfits start glowing and changing colors. Now it's blue. No, green. West smiles and waves to the camera and his suit turns a bright yellow. Katsu just glares at him. Finally, she takes out her anger and shoves him against the chariot wall. Her dress turns a dark red.

"Those outfits are amazing!" Angel screams, "The Game's newest stylist, Marchy, is fabulous. I predict that you will soon be seeing items like this in a store near you."

Clark looks down at his notes, he never did like the teleprompter, "Katsu Mirehi is District 3's first volunteer in sixteen years!"

"Did she do it for a sibling?"

"No," Clark replies.

"Friend?"

"Nope."

"Relative"

"Nada"

"Family pet?" Angel asks, quite seriously. Clark just raises an eyebrow.

"No one really knows for sure. But according to some interviews of neighbors, she can be quite...psychotic."

"Ooh, interesting!"

District 4's chariot comes whipping around the corner. The tributes have cuff bracelets and headpieces with long flowing fabric streamers that makes it look like the ocean is streaming out behind them. Crowe's long dark hair is flying behind her in the wind. D.C. had a long scaley "merman" skirt, and he doesn't look happy about it in the least bit.

"So, Clark, tell me about the District 4 tributes."

Yes. She is finally coroporating. "Well, we have yet another Victor's child in D.C. Codes. Both his mom and his dad won. Crowe, we don't know that much about other than the fact that she is a fighter. We've happen to see peacekeeper reports recalling several street fights. Should be interesting once she reaches the arena."

More cheering occurs when the next chariot, District 5, pulls around. The tributes are living it up in the spotlight. Jeremy Soraks can't keep a straight face. He comically grins and blows cheesy looking kisses out to the Capitol girls. Echo looks like Miss Panem as she does the classic twisting wrist wave. She smiles at the screaming people.

"Isn't that dress just gorgeous on her? The helix spiral beading going up the side just really make it, don't you think?" Angel sighs at the beauty of it. Long, flowing dresses are her Achilles heel.

"Well, for the actual tributes: Jeremy is sixteen years old and in a more well to do situation than most in District 5. His parents actually work here as cartographers. Echo seems to be a fun-loving people girl who likes pina coladas and getting lost in the rain...just kidding about the last part."

District 6 comes trotting up. Rayd gazes at the crowd of screaming people as if they were zoo animals. He is smiling slightly, but there is pain in his brown and green eyes. He seems a bit lost in it all. On the other hand, Darcy is living it up. It looks like she is having her own random dance party up on the chariot.

"Since when are, like, lab coats made out of leather?" Angel asks, "My doctor better switch and start wearing something like that!"

Clark sighs. Angel was so close to being a decent commentator on a couple of the previous districts. And now, that comment.

He gives his speech, "Rayd is our oldest tribute this year. If he lasts for a few weeks, he'll make it to nineteen when he's in the arena. That will be a Hunger Games first."

"So maybe he'll have an advantage," Angel interjects, "You know, older people are wiser!"

It can be oh so true sometimes. Clark smiles, "Get your tissues out, ladies, Darcy Plear is a sob story. Apparently, she has been living all alone on the streets for the past two years. And on top of that, she volunteered to save her best friend Melanie."

Angel sniffs and dabs away a tear, before it can ruin her makeup, "Awww...how sweet is that!"

Clark smiles again and then looks directly into the camera, "And now for a quick commercial break, don't go anywhere. Live exclusive Opening Ceremony coverage, only on HGBC!"


	16. Opening Ceremonies Part 2

"And we're back. For those of you just joining us, you've missed quite a bit. Too catch up on all of our favorite scenes, be sure to check up on our website," Clark says into his mic.

"Here comes District 7! Our little lovebirds!" Angel squealed, "And it looks like they're still together! How sweet-and heartbreaking-is that?"

The tributes stand, quite close together, in their chariot. Cascade could easily pass for a dryad in her outfit of twisting cherry blossom branches, while Reeve looked like quite the lumberjack in his red plaid shirt and rugged jeans. His arm is wrapped gently around her waist, keeping her steady. She looks up at him and smiles shyly before resting her head against him. Reeve leans over and kisses the top of her head.

"Oh la la! Can we get a slow-motion instant replay of that one?" Angel asks. The screens lining the streets did as she suggested. Angel giggles uncontrollably.

Clark rolled his eyes yet again. Young love. How stupid can teens get? He says, "Well this might cause some trouble back home. Apparently both Reeve and Cascade had steady relationships, not with each other, back home."

"No way!" Angel snaps, surprised.

"Yes, they did."

"But they are so cute together, it's perfect! Well you can't stop true love. Only death can seperate that!"

"Unfortunately for these lovers, that's probably how it's going to end," Clark mutters.

Angel smacks him, "How can you say that you heartless jerk!"

"You touch me again, and I will call security," he hisses at her. He turns to the producer, "Edit that last part out please"

He couldn't say more on the subject, District 8 came into view. The tribute's outfits looked like they were pieced together from a million different types of fabric. But yet, somehow, it was cohesive with all of the different patchworks creating a larger pattern. Annastell's was a short, long-sleeved dress and Fray's was a shirt and pants set.

Annastell stared out, almost blankly, over the crowds of people. Fray seemed overwhelmed by it all, his eyes wide with who knows what, nervousness maybe.

"I just love those outfits! I can see that design becoming a trend next fall. You heard it here first," Angel comments.

"It's hard to believe that Annastell is only fifteen. She seems so mature for her age," Clark says focusing more on the tributes, "And Fray, I hate to say it but he looks like he's terrified right now! I'd be interested to see how far, or not, he makes it in the Games."

District 9's chariot comes around the corner. Mackensie is completely dwarfed standing next to Slice. She runs a thin hand through her black hair, brushing it over so it hides half of her face. The guy is menacing looking, muscular and covered in scars.

Angel taps Clark's shoulder hesitantly, "Psst, what's their product?"

Clark shakes his head, "Stone stuff"

"Oooh, got it." That explains why they are spray painted a sparkly grey over simple jeans and grey shirts. Not exactly the best outfit but hey, can't win 'em all.

"What do we know about them?" Angel asks.

"We couldn't gather much information through interviews of the people of 9. They're a quiet bunch. The most I got about Slice was that he was part of some sort of gang."

"And Mackensie?"

"No one had ever seen her before," Clark says.

"Well that's creepy," Angel shudders. Clark nods in agreement, for once.

Horses go thundering by, whipping the District 10 chariot behind them. Apparently something spooked the newer horses to go faster than they were supposed to. Jeff reached out and grabbed the reins and pulled them in tight. The horses slowed and continued on. Jeff was dressed Western styled complete with spurs; they aren't sharp of course, can't have any tributes getting hurt. Sammy was next to him waving to the crowd with a huge smile on her face. She had a denim mini, a ruffled plaid blouse, and, of course, pink cowgirl boots.

"Oh those wild horses! How exciting!" Angel chirped.

"How dangerous," Clark mutters. He slaps on his fake smile before continuing, "District 10's tributes this year are siblings."

"Really? How sad is that?"

"Indeed it is, but it sure makes for an exciting Games. According to our research, they are just like other siblings: they argue, but at the end of the day they still like each other. Well, most days anyway."

District 11 comes around the corner. The tributes are wearing these brown suits. Ivy is growing all over them, literally. The vines twist and blossom as they grow up and around Nala and Cane. Nala's face is hard to read; it's not exactly a glare, but it isn't happy either. Indifferent would probably be the best way to describe it. Cane seems to do well under the critical eyes of the public. He appears confident with a huge grin.

"Oh! They are like the fields they work in! How creative! I think District 11's stylist, Evangeline, had a green thumb lately," Angel says.

"Well, you were right about one thing, they both do work in the fields. Nala's station is with the blackberries. She's been working to provide for her family ever since her mother died. Cane also dropped out of school early to work in the orchards. They have hard workers in District 11."

"I really want blackberries now. That sounds yummy!"

"Focus, Angel. There is just one more District. And here they come!"

District 12's chariot rounds the corner. Trip's dark auburn hair looks like flames in the setting sun. It's fitting, considering that her dress is practically ashes. Samuel looks quite amused by something, maybe it's the attention. Maybe it's the lady that looks like a leopard, complete with tail, ears and whiskers. Don't really know.

"Trip volunteered," Angel says quickly, before Clark can get in a word.

"Yes she did." Clark really hopes that Angel will drop the subject. But, of course, she doesn't.

"According to these notes, it says that she was part of a rebellion two years ago."

"Actually, Angel, see those big words there: 'silent symbol'. That means she had no part. She was just their...um,"

"Mockingjay?" She did not just say that unspeakable word on live tv!

"NO! I mean, of course not. Trip was their, exactly that, a symbol, a representation."

Clark did not want to be having this conversation on tv. Say the wrong words, and his head would be rolling. Literally. Luckily, Angel understands the "cut it off now" motion that the producer is giving her.

Time to wrap this thing up. "Well, citizens of Panem, that concludes our commentary on the Annual 80th Hunger Games Opening Ceremonies. I'm Jays Clark..."

"And I'm Angel Hart"

"May the odds ever be in your favor! Good night!"


	17. Training Part 1

**Training (keeping it short! wanna get to the Games)...tributes are in a random order, keep reading to find yours!**

**D2 Alex Lear, 17**

I. Will. Win. I. Will. Win. Nothing. Will. Stop. Me. Nothing. Will. Get. In. My. Way.

I swing the sword. With each slash of the blade a limb of a mannequin falls off. I smile at the carnage strewn before me. Soon it will be real. Soon it will be the bodies of the other teens in this damn training center. I'm ready. I don't want to waste time here. Let's get to the fricken arena already!

"Nice work," a girl's voice says. It startles me and on instinct (that's right, I have a killer instinct. Be scared.) I spin around and swing the sword out at her. Clash! My sword collides against hers. Good thing she's ready. If not, she would've been dead. "Gosh, it's still only training time. Technically you aren't supposed to injure anyone early."

"Don't startle me then," I snap at her. It's my district partner, what's her name Abby. I sort of avoided her on the train ride.

"You should pay more attention to your surroundings. Then you wouldn't be scared," she immediately snaps back. She did not just call me scared. Jeez, does this girl have a death wish?

"I wasn't scared."

"Of course you weren't. That's what they all say."

"What are you doing here anyway?" She's really starting to annoy me. I'm not a big fan of sarcasm.

"It's a free country! Well, okay, no it's not," she laughs humorlessly before continuing, "I was checking on my ally."

"Allies? Since when?"

"Since I said so," she says before walking away. Fine, be that way. We'll see how long we're allies for.

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18**

"Echo?"

'Mmmhmm?" I reply, unable to say more. My mouth is full of the best pancakes ever. They have chocolate in them!

My mentor, Daisy Karns, smiles at me brightly. She is a younger woman, probably in her late twenties. I know for a fact that she dislikes the Games, but, thankfully, she always tries to get her tributes out. "Your job: stay friendly with people, stay on their good sides. But don't get too close to them, okay?"

Sounds easy enough. "So, be friendly, but not TOO friendly?"

"You got it. Good luck!"

I ride down the elevator with Jeremy. He's rambling on about something; I'm not really paying attention. I just smile, nod, and laugh at the appropriate moments. He seems pleased.

The doors slide open with a ding. "After you," he says, motioning me to exit. I walk out into the training center. My gosh, it is HUGE! There are so many booths of weapons and survival skills that I don't know where to start!

I see a really tall guy standing alone at a camouflage station. Well, might as well go there. I walk up to him, "Hi, I'm Echo!"

He stares at me for a moment. Did I say the wrong thing? He cracks his knuckles. Oh no, maybe I should just walk away. But he smiles, it's hesitant, but it is a smile. Usually that's a good thing, unless you're one of those mentally disturbed people who actually likes killing people!

"Rayd," he says softly. He could be a scary person, if he wanted to be. He has the broad shoulders and scar for it. But somehow, I think he is a good guy.

"Want to go learn knife stuff with me?" I ask.

"I'd rather not. I mean, I wouldn't mind doing something with you, just not the weapon stuff," he replies. So he is either playing down abilities, or he really doesn't want to. I'm guessing the latter. Maybe he's a sweetie at heart. "Wanna do this with me?" he asks, pointing at the paints lined up at the tables.

Might as well, "Sure!" I say and grab some green paint.

**D10 Sammy Jester, 16**

I pull my hair back into a pony. Ugh, my hair irritates me so bad sometimes! I pick up the dagger and take a deep breath.

The instructor was showing me key places to stab or slice. Vulnerable places that can kill. Calm down Sammy. You can do this. It's just a dummy. But, it won't always be, a nagging voice keeps telling me. Ok, new tactic: imagine it's a pig back at the farm. You can slaughter those things easily. But they aren't people. I'll be in the arena with people. Living, breathing people!

What if this came down between me and Jeff? What would I do? Part of me wants to stick with him the whole time. But the other part, the selfish part, wants us to stay away from each other. If I die, I want him to win of course. But I'm scared of death. I really truly am.

I set the dagger around and decide to do something else. Edible plants sound good to me. It's something useful.

And apparently, it's something really easy for me. Oh well. I identify leaf after leaf, berry after berry.

A guy walks up and joins me. He doesn't say anything but jumps right in. This definitely isn't his forte. He's about ready to try a bad one. It's nothing that will kill you; it'll just leave you with a really bad stomach ache.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you," I say, knocking it from his hand.

"Why not?" he says quietly. He looks mad that I interrupted. I think his name is Diamond. No, that's not right. Onyx? Jade? Gold? District 1 has such stupid names! What's wrong with something halfway normal?

"Fine! Try it. Just don't blame me if you're puking later." He grins in response, then shrugs and puts it down. I continue, "Finally, someone who actually listens to me! Usually I just ramble on and on and everyone just gets fed up and ignores me. Don't you hate that? I mean seriously, I could be having an important breakthrough and no one will pause for a minute, or even a stinkin' second, to listen. It just makes me so mad sometimes!"

"I don't really have that problem," Silver-that's his name, Silver-mutters.

I'm done with this station, it's pretty worthless to me anyway. I call out, "Well, see ya! Be careful with those dang plants!"

**D8 Fray Lancing, 13**

I follow (NOT stalk) Annastell into the elevator. We sink lower and lower heading towards the Training Center. Annastell looks amazing, as always. She doesn't say anything, just kind of blankly stares into space. I wonder what she's thinking about.

There is so many places and so little time! I want to learn about everything. Oh look, a sword. No, the spear. Wait, a...I have no idea what it is, but it looks cool! Nevermind, I'm going to try the bow and arrows! They don't look that hard...

Long story short: bows and arrows are very hard to aim. I tried for the target, I really did. But it didn't hit the bull's-eye. It didn't even get close. In fact, I didn't even hit the target itself! The arrow soared through the air. It was magical, but then it kinda went off course.

My arrow whistles right by the huge District 4 guy's face, only missing him by a couple of inches. Oh crap.

To say he is ticked is an understatement. Let's just say that bombs don't look explosive in comparison to this guy. He snaps the arrow in half and marches over in my direction. I throw the bow down and run away.

"I'm gonna get you!" he yells, along with a bunch of other words that I'd rather not repeat. My poor ears are no longer innocent.

I turn my head to see if the giant is pursuing, and crash into someone. It's not just anyone though. Annastell. And this HAS to be the time where I get all tangled up and fall to the ground. Smooth, Fray, really smooth.

She reaches down a hand and before I can move, hauls me to my feet. Oh sweet baby Caesar she touched me. Not only did she acknowledge me, but she touched me!

"You ok?" she asks. Her voice is so sweet! What do I say? What do I say?

I nod quickly, "Yeah, I'm fine." I SAID something to her! Out loud!

She smiles and walks off. I talked to her. I talked to her! I talked to Annastell Hubert, love of my young life! Touchdown dance! Ok, dancing in my head. I'd look really really weird actually, like, you know, dancing for real. Awkward!

**D12 Samuel Austen, 12**

Let's find something I can handle...

If I messed with a sword, I'd end up cutting off my hand. Hammers are a no-no, I already lost a finger to one. If I did knot tying, I'd end up tangled and I might even hang myself. Not on purpose! I'm not suicidal; I like the idea of living.

I wander around the room, trying to find something to do. It shouldn't be this hard.

Some tributes are talking. I need to get an ally I think. I'd be dead without one! Now to find someone.

That District 3 guy seems nice enough. He's a few years older, so maybe he can protect me. The hard part of this is the actual talking to of people. You have to have tact. It can't be too obvious that the only reason you're talking to them is because you want something.

I walk up to him, "Hey, wanna be allies?"

"Um, I don't know," he says. He seems hesitant. Maybe I was too subtle.

"Sure, I guess. I'm West."

"Samuel. If we don't die in the bloodbath, or get mauled by mutts on the first day, or..."

West shoots a worried glance at me. Wonder why.

**D12 Trip Moors, 15**

You never think that much about your family, until you no longer have them. I never loved my mother; she really resented me and Kiri. As if it was our fault that we were born disabled. I miss my father too.

Well, I never really saw my father. He went missing when I was seven, before I could see. The only thing I have of his is my necklace. It has a bullhorn charm and a feather on it. He used to guide my hand over the cool metal and describe it to me. He said that the feather represented freedom and the bullhorn stands for the strength it takes to get there. I never take the necklace off, so it is now my token.

I exit my huge bedroom, my home until the arena, and walk into the dining room where Samuel waits. District 12 doesn't have a Victor as our mentor. Our only winners were all killed in the Rebellion. Instead we get this gruff older peacekeeper named Crash. He doesn't talk much, so I'm not expecting much advice from him. Also, I can basically count on not receiving anything in the arena. It's as if they are still punishing District 12 for the Mockingjay.

I sit down and absentmindedly nibble on a roll. A man walks in carrying a tray of food. I drop the bread. It can't be. No, it's impossible. The man serving us looks just like...the man in the only picture in my house. My father! That can't be right.

I take my glasses off and examine them for smudges. I stare at the man again.

"What are you doing?" Crash asks.

"Nothing," I mutter, but I don't take my eyes off of him. The man keeps looking at me too, and I'm pretty sure it's not because I'm staring at him like a freak.

"Don't bother the Avoxes."

"Avoxes?"

"You know..." No I don't know. An explanation might be nice. Luckily Crash sees my confusion, "They are people, usually rebels, who disobey the Capitol. They get their tongues cut out and then they are basically slaves for the rest of their lives." He says it so heartlessly.

All my father's talk of freedom and bravery...and this is where he ends up? I feel sick. I put down my fork and run out of the room.


	18. Training Numero Dos

**Ugh, it was 3 am (serious insomniac here!) I had just finished this. I leave for like five minutes to grab a snack, and what happens! I come back, and my sleeping dog's paw ended up on the laptop and somehow deleted every stinkin word! So *sigh* here it is, written yet again, the second training section!**

**D9 Slice, 16**

I take in the world around me. The large room is full of booths of, well, just about anything. The place is set up rather poorly. There aren't enough exits for a quick escape. Also, the various tables are too spread out to provide decent coverage in case of a fight. Not, that I would be hiding. But one has to be able to use his surroundings to his advantage.

The people here, well most of them anyway, are weak and pathetic. They don't really stand a chance. But in this world, who has a hope? I know I don't.

I grasp a spear in my hand. I've never used anything like it before, so might as well learn something new. It's weight seems a bit odd, but I heave it into the target ahead of me. It pierces the center, and goes straight on through. The instructor looks shocked. It was nothing.

"You want in?" a guy's voice asks. I turn and look at him; I think he's from 2. He's tall and strong looking, but I know I can take him down easily. I've killed men twice his size before. He will be nothing.

"In what?"

"Our career alliance. That was wicked what you just did!" He seems so excited. I stare at him and the smile slowly fades from his face.

"Well, think about it, ok," he stammers.

"What's in it for me?"

A sly grin lights his face again, "Let's just say you don't have to die as early."

Yeah, right.

**D2 Abby Pryse, 18**

I know I have allies, for now anyway. So at least I don't have to worry about that. I'm not sure if I completely trust any of them though. It's a risk I have to be willing to take. I really don't have any other options. Do I?

I could, like, not go with the careers. Maybe team up with, I don't know, some other people instead. But with the careers, there is a sense of strength and pride. I'd rather not be known as the girl from District 2 who couldn't hold her own. Ugh! Too many options. It's hard knowing that my life is on the line if I make the wrong choice.

Just don't think too hard about it. You always overanalyze things. Just go for it.

Fine, time for action. I shouldn't be wasting precious training time anyway. I walk over to the weapons area. The only thing I know how to wield is a sword. There are so many to choose from. I examine each one, checking for weight, length, and balance before making my final decision.

I keep a loose grasp on the hilt and give the blade a quick twirl. It's perfect; I hope there's a sword just like this one in the Cornucopia. It's been so long since I've held a weapon. I haven't touched a sword since the day my Dad lost it and accidentally killed himself.

The unwanted memories of that horrible, horrible day comes flooding back. I feel like I'm reliving it. I can almost feel the icy sword slice through my upper thigh, cutting deep into my leg. I squeeze my eyes tightly shut and block out the feeling.

I take a deep breath and begin to swing the blade in a pattern of arcs. Then I stab it at a dummy, taking all my frustration out on it.

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17**

Cascade stands there struggling to make her basic snare trap perfect. I finished mine a few minutes ago, so I'm just watching her now. She is not going to be the one catching food, that's all I'm gonna say.

The branch she was using snapped and the whole thing fell. She bites her bottom lip and pouts, "I can't do it! It's so hard!"

"That's what she said," I laugh.

Cascade turns and looks at me, confusion in her blue-green eyes. Does she not get it!

"What?" she asks. Oh gosh. Really?

"Nevermind," I mutter. She smiles at me.

Yep, she's the one. I'm sure of it. It sucks that I have to meet her during this death trap. Where was she a few months ago? We've always lived in the same district, but I've never really seen her before. Perfect timing, Not. I'm usually a bit better with the ladies.

Oh well, gonna have fun with this one while it lasts. She's small, so I'm gonna go old school classic here. I take her, spin her around and dip her before planting a kiss on her soft lips. Cascade giggles quietly. That worked a whole heck of a lot better than I thought it would. I was afraid I was gonna drop her!

**D3 West Greeter, 15**

Samuel won't shut up! He rambles on and on about something...I'm not even sure what anymore! And on top of that, he won't leave me alone for a single minute.

Honestly, I really don't want to be in an alliance with him. But how could I say no? I can't just leave the poor kid alone out there.

It's not just him. I'm not even sure if I want any allies. They all end the same way: betrayal. How can I trust someone if I know that they can stab me in the back? Literally! I mean, I want allies but I don't want the drama. Maybe I can find someone who I can work with for the first couple of days, and then be able to leave without killing them or feeling guilty. A no string's attached kind of deal. That would be nice.

I really don't want to get to attached to people. It just makes these things so much harder than they should be. The Games are just sick and wrong. Not only do we have to fight to the death but the odds are not fair. There are huge guys who are trained to kill against little, helpless twelve year olds.

"So whadya think?" Samuel asks.

"Bout what?"

"Our new name! Weren't you listening?"

I sigh, of course I wasn't listening, "What is it?"

"Our alliance name is, drum roll please! SMUG!" he says, pumping his fist into the air triumphantly.

What the heck? "Um, SMUG?"

"Yeah! Awesome, right?"

"What's it mean?"

"Smart Mostly United Guys! Duh," he says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Trust me, it's not.

"It needs work," I mutter.

**D9 Mackensie Marble, 12**

I can expect no help from my stupid, arrogant, down-right idiot mentor. He's definitely playing all his cards on Slice. You could tell as soon as we stepped onto that train. He doesn't hide his outright favoritism either. I know that I don't have much of a chance in this, but still!

My goal: stay under the radar. I've been doing it my whole life, so it's not that hard. In fact, I'm pretty good at it. No one notices me, and that's the way I plan on keeping it!

I wander from booth to booth, learning what I can. It's not much, but some survival skills will probably be invauluable later in the Games. That is usually the reason for deaths, lack of food.

I examine my competition. The career pack looks strong enough. There are two huge guys and one smaller guy, but he looks calculating. He's the one to watch. The girls look pretty scary too, if you ask me. But what looks even scarier is that District 3 girl who is tearing into dummies laughing maniacally. I shudder inwardly. She's smaller, like me, but she appears to be fearless.

There is a huge 18 year old guy. He might be a threat too; I haven't figured him out yet. Other than that, everyone looks, well, average. There might be some heartless killers in the mix, but they look fairly sane. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess.

**D4 Crowe Garnet, 16**

"It's Crowe, right?" a guy's voice asks.

"Yeah," I reply, brushing my hair out of my eyes to get a better look at him. Oh crap, giant scary guy, my district partner.

"Just saying, if you think you're going to tag along with us in the arena, think again. You better prove yourself first. Got it chicky?"

"Who said I wanted to work with you?" I snap.

"What's your other choices?"

"I have lots of them! Just look at all the people here!"

"Huh, I thought you'd be better than that," he mutters. This guy is getting on my last nerve!

"Better than what? I'm better than everyone, including you, you dumbass!"

Great, I just had to tick off one of the biggest guys here. His fists clench together and he grits his teeth in anger. I brace myself for the punch, that I know is coming. As soon as he is off-balance, I'll follow with a kidney jab...

But he just laughs, "You got more spunk than I thought!" and just walks away.

I can't believe he just walked away from a decent fight! Coward!

**The poll for your fave tributes is still up, if you haven't voted please do! I would like to be able to see who is popular. Who knows, this could influence how long a certain tribute lives...the bloodbath is coming soon...**


	19. Training Numero Tres

**And here we go! Next training chapter!**

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16****  
><strong>

From what I've seen so far, everyone is so solemn! Ok, so maybe the whole this-is-probably-our-last-week-on-this-earth thing is on people's mind. And yeah, I have to admit that I have thought about that too. But if you know that every breath you take draws you closer to death's door, wouldn't you be living it up while you can? Life is being cut short; why not make the best of it?

Ok, all considering, I'm not taking my own advice very well. Other than eating WAY too many desserts, I've been having a rather so-so "last living days". Which, unless I win, are now.

Wow, time is such a bitch. The minute my name was drawn seemed to last forever. Each second was an eternity on its own. That was so long ago. Now each hour flies by as quickly as humanely possible. It feels like I just walked into the Training Center a minute or two ago when in fact, I've been here for a couple hours.

I hurl the knife at the target again and again. Whenever I don't hit the bull's-eye, it's pretty close. Practice makes perfect, but it's so dang repetitive. Grab knife. Aim. Throw. Watch it hit the target with a thud. Grab knife. Aim. Throw. Watch it hit the target with a thud. Grab knife. Aim. Throw...

This is getting boring.

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14****  
><strong>**  
><strong>So many beautiful weapons to choose from. They are all sharp, and ready to use. I just have to try them all.

I run my fingers over a blade, feeling it's cold touch. My finger catches slightly at the tip. A single red teardrop of blood oozes from the slice. I hold out my hand and watch it slowly well up and fall. I watch it 'til it hits the concrete floor. It splatters slightly: a stain of red. A piece of me will always be here, in this room, this room of both amazing beauty and deathly fear.

You can literally feel the tension here. It surrounds you, suffocates you, and attempts to swallow you whole. I will not bow to it. Instead, I will embrace it and make it mine. There is no fear, only desire and hope.

An older girl with dark ringlets is nearby. She walks with a certain, something. Confidence? Grace? Well, whatever it is, it is powerful. I wonder if I have that kind of presence. How do others perceive me? Am I just the crazy girl that no one likes, like at home? Or am I a threat here? Do boys think I'm cute? Why hasn't anyone talked to me? Questions fill my brain, threatening to distract me from my sole purpose: killing. I have to focus on what's important.

**D1 Silver Manhatten, 15****  
><strong>

They are wrong. They dismiss me as nothing but a liability. They are just too stupid to realize the truth.

Careers, yeah right. The girls will be the useless ones. My District partner is actually well trained, but she is blinded by hate. Shouldn't be too hard to lead her to her death. I'm not sure about that 4 chick. She isn't trained, it's obvious. Maybe she'll be part of this alliance, maybe not. We'll have to see about that. Abby is tough and somewhat mean, but she doesn't want to be here. She doesn't have the passion or drive to win this.

The career guys are both larger than me by, well, a lot. They're all brawn, no brain though. They think they are running the show. Emphasis on think. They couldn't lead to save their lives. Which is what it's going to come down to: their lives.

Sure, that doesn't stop them from "leading" and "recruiting". Idiots. It's not hard to get them to do what I want. Say a little something, the slightest little hint, and they basically go running to do my bidding. They don't think that the younger guy from 1 is in charge. They are wrong. It's gonna be fun to watch them fail.

**  
><strong>**D6 Rayd Wister, 18****  
><strong>**  
><strong>"Here's the deal: you suck when it comes to guessing the edible plants."

I turn and look at the kid talking to me. He's fairly short, with a lithe build. His dark eyes bore into me-showing honesty and trust- as he continues, "That's something I'm good at," He grins slightly, "I'm Cane."

Thanks for pointing out the obvious kid. "Your point?"

"You ally with me, I can provide," he says. There's something about him. He seems like a good guy, even though he's a little bit outspoken.

Hmm...starving to death doesn't sound like the best way to go. I already have one alliance set up though.

"You take me, you gotta take Echo too. I already made a deal with her," I say. I'm not a big fan of arguing. So it's a no-brainer that I'm not the best at bargaining.

Cane scans the room and looks at Echo for a second, "Fine. Guess there's strength in numbers, at least for a little bit."

I have to agree with that one. The careers bother-not exactly scare, but bother-me. They're like the bullies back home. Would they be as likely to attack a larger group? Guess we'll find out.

**D11 Nala Wheat, 17**

I had a real breakfast of eggs, pancakes, waffles, fruit, juices, and so many other things. It's unlike anything we ever had at home. At least they feed us well before we die. The downside to the large, amazing meal is that I had to spend it with my escort.

Capitol people look like they just came out of a strange story. It's weird, what they do to themselves for the sake of "beauty". My escort Zaola has glittery, yes, glittery, pink skin. There are golden vine tattoos snaking around her skin. I'd hate to have to see her under bright lights. She'd be blinding!

She tries to get me and Cane to talk to her about our family, our friends, our lives at District 11. She brings us here to die and expects us to talk to her like we were friends! Really! It's sickening.

I give monosyllabic answers. After a few minutes, she (quite dramatically) gives up. She goes on and on how I'm not going to get any sponsors this way. How I need to "open up" to the world. Like I really want all of Panem to see my pain? Um, no!

Ugh, these people are going to drive me insane! That is, if I'm not insane already.

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17**

I am here for one reason and one reason only. Kill that girl from 10. I know what you're thinking: Really Rubye? That's not even the same girl who killed your sister. She had nothing to do with it.

But you know what? You can just fricken deal with it. She's going down.

It very well may be the last thing I do. And oh well. I didn't come to win, though that might be nice. I came to seek out revenge. Man, would that be nice. Revenge. I can almost taste it now. The girl who killed my sister, Samantha, was small and had long brown braids. This year's 10 girl is small too, should be easy to break. Haha.

The thing is: should I tell her? Strike terror into her bones? Make her fear me? Hmm... she is all alone, might as well. This oughta be interesting.

"I'm Rubye," I say in my sweetest voice possible.

"Samantha, but most people call me Sammy," she says. Really? You've got to be kidding me. In case it isn't obvious: her name was my sister's name!

"Well, Sammy," I spit her name out as if it was poison, "Guess what. You will be begging for a quick death by the time I'm done."

She stares at me blankly. "I said like all of seven words to you! What's your deal?"

"Revenge," I say simply. Her jaw drops and she seems to be trying to figure something out. I continue, "It will be so sweet..."

"Ice cream?" she asks, with a weird smile.

"What!" I practically scream at her.

"Ya know, ice cream! We had it yesterday."

"What does that have to do with anything!" This girl is annoying me. She should be quaking with fear by now!

"Revenge is sweet. Revenge is best served cold. Revenge is ice cream!" she says excitedly. I can't tell if it's an act, or if she is just that stupid.

"Well, it won't be sweet for you," I mutter as I stalk off. If I stay, I'll end up killing her right here, right now!

"It will give you guilt like brain freeze!" she yells after me.

**Kk, just so ya'll know: It wasn't my fault for having D10 Samantha and Rubye's sis Samantha have the same name. It was a complete cawinkydink! Sorry for any confusion!**


	20. Training Numero Cuatro

**D4 D.C. Codes, 17**

This place isn't all that different from home. Big rooms, good food, long hot showers after training, it's nothing new to me. The only thing I can do without is the button that makes shampoo squirt in your eyes. It burns. Bad.

I was born to do this. I was raised to do this. I am doing this. Fame and glory here I come!

My guide to making my name immortal:

Step 1. Train my ass off, check.

Step 2. Volunteer, check

Step 3. Chariots, sigh, check.

Step 4. Scare the living hell out of everyone here. Yeah, I got this.

Step 5. Training in the Capitol, work in progress.

Step 6. Get in the Arena and kill all who get in my way, pending.

Step 7. Win!

So easy. I'm over, let me count, halfway there!

I can't lose. It would mean the ultimate shame. How could I ever show my face in District 4 again? Oh wait, nevermind. It doesn't matter anyway. I'm winning. I'll be home before I know it.

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14**

Most awkward moment of my life! Hands down! It started out all innocent. I had no freaking idea what was coming with that.

I stand at the booth, trying to learn this knot which might supposedly save my life. I don't exactly see how, but that's what the instructor said. So I give a slight pull...I'm not exactly sure how, but I got, um, tangled.

"I'll save you," that District 5 guy says in a beyond cheesy accent. I'm not sure if it was supposed to make him sound heroic, or what. If it was, it failed. It's just funny. Jeremy grabs the end of the rope. He wraps it around his hand and yanks it. Instead of the rope undoing, it just tightens pulling him closer!

He is an inch away from my face. So close, but so far. His dark messy hair hangs over his eyes, but it doesn't hide them. I can feel his muscles tighten. If he could just kiss me...

SMACK OUT OF IT DARCY!

I can't LIKE people here. I have to get out of this alive! If I start liking people, it will just make hard things even harder!

After the instructor stops laughing hysterically, she unwinds the rope and frees us. Don't look at Jeremy. Don't look at him. Oh crap. He's hot. Walk away. Walk away. Why does he have to be cute?

**D10 Jeff Jester, 17**

Ok, I'll admit the Capitol is cool lookin'. The people are freaks, but hey, to each his own. If they weren't excited about watching us kill each other, they wouldn't be too bad of people. Spoiled maybe. But not totally bad. Pfft, who am I kidding? They are a bunch of twisted psychopaths!

"Ya need to eat something," Marshall Reuben, my mentor, mutters. He stares into his empty glass, as if it will magically fill. Who knows, with all the technology here it just might. "Every extra pound will be helpful when you're dang starvin' in the dang wilderness of that dang arena!"

"Not hungry," I say. How can I be hungry? The stress is eating away at me.

"Ya worried?" Well no duh! He shoves me, "Ya need to loosen up. I'm gonna do my best to get ya some dang sponsors."

How am I going to do this? I know I won't be able to live with the guilt. If I live, that means Sammy will be dead. There is no way out of this situation. Either I die, or I live. I won't ever be able to live after this, not really. The thought of death, I really don't want to think about death. But it may be coming all too soon.

**D7 Cascade Price, 16**

"I can try, but I'm not sure if it will work," out mentor Asher says.

"Come on. Sure it will. Katniss and Peeta survived, didn't they?" Reeve argues. We've been debating the pros and cons of saying we're in a relationship. I like Reeve-he's a sweetie-but saying that I'm in a relationship with him is a big step.

"Katniss was shot and Peeta was tortured. Yeah, they survived," Asher rolls his eyes. I must admit, Reeve isn't the brightest at times. Not saying he isn't smart; he just doesn't pay attention.

"We're not setting out to start World War, what number are we on now? Five?"

I need to have my say in this! "Reeve, shut up will you! Think about it: I have Donnie back home! I don't want to sound like a..."

"Slut?" he puts in. I can't believe he just called me that!

"Reeve!" I snap. I can't believe it!

"What? Was it something I said?"

"What do you think!"

He reaches over and hugs me, "Sorry!"

Asher stands up to leave, "Just letting you know, the walls are a lot thinner than they look. I can hear just about everything, including things I'd rather not..."

**D8 Annastell Hubert, 15**

I wrap myself tighter in the blanket, hoping to block out the world right now. I really wish I was at home. Even the blankets here are different. They are made of silk, cool and smooth. What I'd rather have is one of the thick, homespun ones. Mom always used those to comfort me and now, when I need it the most, I don't have one.

The door swings open, and my escort walks in. He sits down wearily in a chair, "You have to go to training you know."

"I really don't want to."

"Why not?"

"Well for starters, I don't know anyone. And I really don't want to learn how to kill."

He sighs, "Then learn survival skills. Outlast the competition."

"I don't have a chance, and I know it."

"Sure you do, you might even win this thing," he says with a huge smile. The lie is so obvious. He doesn't believe it himself.

"Fine, I'll go," I mutter just to appease him.

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14 **

I scan the racks of weapons, looking for something I can easily handle. Perfect! A machete. I didn't think that they would have one here. I've never seen them in past Games before. I hope they actually put one in the arena, not just in the training center.

Maybe this thing won't be so bad after all! I've got me enough decent allies to rival the careers. Not that I'm stupid enough to pick a fight with them. It's just if it happens, I'll be ready.

Unlike some people, I was careful in my choices. I have Rayd, a really tall eighteen year old, Echo who is really nice, and Reeve-he looks strong and he's told stories of how he has survived numerous attacks of wild animals. So maybe he will be good against mutts. Oh yeah, there's also his girlfriend, forgot about her there for a second, she's the smart one. They all seem determined, which I believe is an important quality.

It still sucks that I'm here and not at home. But now thinking back on it, I'm glad Buffet didn't volunteer. I'd have terrible guilt if he died; it would've been all my fault. Anyway, I have a chance at this. I really do.

**Haha yes! Last training chapter!**


	21. The Beginning of the End

**Kk, I decided not to do interviews. They are long, boring, and too repetitive for me. I'm a rather impatient person. So doing a quick fast-forward here (sorry Caesar Flickerman)...**

"Good morning Panem!" Claudius Templesmith booms into his mic, "This is the moment you've all been waiting for! The 80th Hunger Games!" He looks around the VIP section of a viewing room, they are cheering like it's the best thing ever. Which, of course, it is. Who doesn't want to see twenty-four teens battle it out to the death?

"This year expect all the norm: hope and disappointment, love and betrayal, life and death! And now, without farther delay, this year's Hunger Games! As I speak, the tributes are being raised into the arena..."

* * *

><p><strong>Sammy Jester (D10)<strong>

My stylist looks confused. My guess is that the required clothes aren't outlandish enough for her. She sighs, "Usually you get hints of what your wearing, based off of your clothing. But I can't tell a thing!"

I look down. It's pretty much typical clothing. Something you see everyday. It's just jeans, a black t shirt, and a sweatshirt jacket. I guess that means it won't be a desert. But that's the only thing I've eliminated from the list of possible arenas. It could be anything else. Not even the sky is the limit! There is no limit!

It's hard enough knowing that each breath might be my last. Real pleasant thought there. But on top of that, there is that psycho chick from 1 who wants to kill me! Well, everyone wants to kill me, but she is by far the scariest. I'm on her own personal hit list and it's not a place that I want to be! I watched her throw those knives around like it was nothing. I'd rather not be killed by one of those things. I'm going to avoid her at all costs!

"Good luck," my stylist says as I step onto the silver plate. The clear tubing encases me and I am lifted into the air.

**Darcy Plear (D6)**

I open my eyes, but I can't see a thing. It's so bright. I blink a couple times and my vision adjusts. This can't be happening. I must be dreaming.

I'm in the...Training Center? Yeah, that's it. It seems to be exactly the same. Booths line the gray walls. Ok, there is supplies scattered randomly throughout the room on counters, on the floor, everywhere. That's the only difference I can see. This really can't be the arena, can it? It's so, small and enclosed. If this is it, we'll all be dead within an hour or two. Wait, there are the stair doors and elevators. I'm sure I can escape through the one of them. Why else would they be there?

The countdown begins. Less than a minute to go. Thirty seconds. Twenty five seconds. Ten seconds. Time seems to tick by ever so slowly, my heart pounds about a million times per second.

Let the chaos begin: five, four, three, two, one. The gong goes off with a loud crash. The sound reverberates through the large room, echoing over and over again.

I don't take my eyes off the door as I make a mad dash for it. I stoop to grab a knife and a small bag that was in my path, but that's it. I want to survive this.

**D.C. Codes (D4)**

This place is weird. Oh well. Won't stop me any.

The second I can, I leap off my silver platform. Weapons first, supplies later. Change order. Kill first. Weapons second. Supplies, well I'll get to them later. They are kinda needed, I think.

My first victim dashes by. She's heading for somewhere. I don't know where. I just know that she's not gonna make it. She's tiny. Don't know who she is. District 9 maybe? It doesn't matter.

I grab her thin arm and yank her back. She screams as her arm snaps and breaks. Her pain just fuels me. I'm not going to be completely cruel. I will kill her fairly quickly. I could be mean and make it last for awhile. But this isn't a good place to do that. I have to watch my back.

I wrap my hands around her throat and squeeze ever so gently, lifting her completely off the ground. She gasps quickly and then kicks out, trying to hit me. Her short helpless legs don't even get close. She struggles less and less as I tighten my grip. I smile as her skin goes ashen. The lights slowly fade from her blue eyes, leaving them dull and lifeless.

Too easy. I throw her small body to the ground and stalk off to find my next target.

**Silver Manhatten (D1)**

I trained for years for this moment, and now that it's here, it almost unbelievable. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited. It just doesn't seem true.

The arena/Training center seems a bit unorganized. Instead of everything piled in one place, it just looks like someone just randomly scattered various supplies and weapons all over the place. Odd. Not what I was expecting. I was hoping for something a little more orderly.

I scan the room, looking for my weapon. I could use anything, but I must say I have my favorites. Of course, it HAS to be on the far side of the room. I'm sure the gamemakers did that on purpose. Don't want things to be too easy.

As soon as the gong rings I run. I have to get this. I duck as a spear narrowly misses me. Wow, that was fast! It must've been right next to someone's start point. Not fair.

I keep a look out of my surroundings; I'd rather not die before I even get a weapon! From my peripheral vision, I see that District 4 chick, Crowe, mercilessly stab that District 7 girl in the chest. She doesn't even flinch as the blood splatters her. She better join our alliance now. She's too much of a threat to have wandering around. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

I don't stop. It seems like forever since I took my first step but it's only been a minute or two. I grab the handle of a hammer, it's lighter than I'd like but it's still useful. That 3 boy stumbles in my way. Stupid. There is no room for idiots in the Games. I send the hammer crashing upon his head. He doesn't make a sound as he crumbles to the ground in a heap. I leap over his body and back into the battle.

**Samuel Austen (D12)**

I'm thrown into a fight for the death. What's the worst that can happen? Well, the list goes on. And on. And on. And on.

My mentor Crash said to avoid the Cornucopia at all costs. Well guess what? There is no freaking Cornucopia! What do I do now!

That demented chick from comes charging, her blade glints in the fluorescent lighting. She swings it up in a sweeping arc and sends it crashing down.

On me. I barely feel it. You gotta be effin' kidding. Shit.

**Annastell Hubert (D8)**

Oh my gosh.

The gong loudly echoes again and again and again. It won't stop. My ears are going to be ringing after this, if I survive this.

I hear crashes and clatters. I have no idea what is going on! Everything is so loud and wild. There's already a dead person on the floor. Oh my gosh, she's dead! A dead person. I know that's the whole point of this, but still. She's dead. She won't ever breathe, talk, or laugh again. It's so final.

There's got to be some way out of here! My eyes can barely focus on anything. Everything is happening so fast.

Finally I spot it. A door. An escape. A hope. I don't watch what's going on around me. I focus solely on my path out of destruction.

"Annastell!" A voice calls out. Don't turn around. Don't turn around.

I turn around and see Fray running after me, "Wait up! I need to tell you something!" he calls out.

He can't call out anymore after that.

Behind him, Slice heaves a spear. It goes cutting through the air. I catch my breath as it goes piercing through Fray's thin body with a sickening thud. The sharp metal end protrudes out, completely skewering him. Blood goes flying out of him, creating a firework of red.

Someone is screaming. It takes me a minute to realize that it is me. I turn and run for my life.

* * *

><p>Claudius Templesmith looks around at the carnage strewn around him. The floor is splattered with the red blood. This isn't dirt, so it won't absorb the stains into the earth. Five bodies, never to breath again. All in all, it wasn't a bad bloodbath, not the best, but it could've been worse. Granted, it will be sure to get better as the stakes get higher.<p>

He smiles a somewhat sly grin and lists the tributes (bold ones are alive, tells who their allies are.):

**D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 **~(Rubye, Alex, Abby, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, Abby, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Abby, D.C.)

**D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesty of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, Abby)

**D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 **~

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, 18 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

**D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 **~

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (neck snapped by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

**D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 **~

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** 17 ~

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

**D12 Trip Moors, 15** ~

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry, each POV was kinda short. I was trying to get a lot of shorter scenes in. Bloodbath's are a little bit chaotic. POV's will probably be longer in other chapters. <strong>

**Huge thank you to the Vice President Gamemaker, packman23!**


	22. The Aftermath

**oO0~Day 1~0Oo**

Families back home mourn their lost friends, siblings, sons, or daughters. What a terrible price for rebellion, the loss of young innocent lives. They never had a chance in this harsh, cruel world.

The cannon fires once, twice...five times signaling for all those who perished within minutes. Pictures of their faces light up the midmorning sky. Mackensie Marble who died at the tender age of 12. Cascade who's chance at love ended with the sword. West who was the kind, gentle boy. Samuel whose dark thinking predicted his own demise. Fray who never got the chance to tell his feelings. Did any of them deserve the end they received?

Twenty four go into the arena, but only one can come out alive. Twenty three will take their last breath, sooner or later. Only one will survive.

**Jeremy Soraks (D5)**

Tires squeal viciously as the car speeds towards me. I dive and the wind whooshes around me; I narrowly miss getting ran over.

And I thought that avoiding other tributes would be the hard part! But no, it's trucks and cars. I've only been in a car once, for about five minutes after the reaping. It seemed to go so fast, all of the buildings were flying by. That must've been a snail's pace compared to what they are doing now!

I run along the streets. Apparently I'm in a city of some sort. Tall building block out most of the sunlight and a smoky fog blurs my vision. I would've been hit by a car by now if their headlights didn't warn me that they were coming.

Would it hurt to die by being trampled? Or would it be easier to be stabbed or something like that? Why am I thinking like this! I saw way to much blood I suppose. Try to think positively. I might, I mean I will try, to win this. Life is good, death just sucks.

I throw down the spear I was carrying; it's slowing me down too much. It also makes dodging a whole heck of a lot harder. I will probably regret that later. I can easily imagine what my mentor Daisy is thinking. It's something along the lines of "run, you fool!", it's not "you idiot, keep the weapon!", it's "RUN!"

So that is what I am doing. Running.

**Rubye Glitter (D1)**

I never miss. The knife left my hand. It had a direct course. It should've sunk deep into her heart, killing her at first impact, the dangerous blade slicing through her. But it didn't. Now she is running free, alive and unharmed.

She is going to pay for this. She is going to pay dearly. The longer it is put off, the angrier I get. The angrier I get, the more painful her death is going to be.

Everyone left the arena, or Training Center or whatever, out into the unknown. All that's left in here are the strong, the powerful, and the super amazing: the careers.

"Ya gonna help or what?" Alex snaps at me. The guys are gathering what supplies are left. Actually there is quite a bit. That must mean that everyone else is going to be without. I'm liking the idea.

"It looks like you got it," I say. He glares a minute, but does nothing else.

I look around the room, trying to find any and everything that might help me. I end up with about a dozen sharp knives. That's really all I need. Well, except like food and water, but that's why I'm here. As an alliance we have more than enough basic supplies to keep us going for a couple weeks. Not that it's going to take that long. I'm expecting to be out of here in about five days. As a whole, the competition is weak.

"So, whadya think is outside?" Abby asks.

"Dunno. Think we should find out though," Alex stands up and walks to the door. He peeks around the corner, "It's the Capitol!"

They wouldn't just dump us in the Capitol, would they? There are so many people there that will get in my way.

"Seriously?" Silver asks sarcastically. I don't know if he is, like, part mute or what. I've never heard him speak at a normal volume.

"Yeah. There is wild looking buildings, streets, cars, loud music, everything!"

"Of course it is the Capitol! Where else can these fabulous Hunger Games be (sponsored by Quell Auto for all your maintenance needs, no matter how disastrous)?" an oddly familiar voice booms.

I turn to the speaker. Claudius Templesmith? In the arena? Huh, he looks taller on tv. This is just getting weirder and weirder. It looks like the traditional Games announcer, but then again, it doesn't. His skin has taken on a more greenish hue and his eyes look like living fire flickering in the light. Super freaky.

"What the heck!" Abby says. Apparently I'm not the only who finds this weird.

"Only nineteen tributes remain! Eighteen have to die!" Templesmith yells in a gravelly voice.

"Let's get out of here!" D.C. yells. I have to agree with the muscle-head for once. This is just creepy.

Templesmith watches us as we quickly gather up our stuff and head out the doors of the 'Training Center'. "Happy Hunger Games!" he yells after us.

* * *

><p><strong>No new deaths...yet...<strong>

**D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 **~(Rubye, Alex, Abby, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, Abby, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Abby, D.C.)

**D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, Abby)

**D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 **~

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, 18 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

**D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 **~

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (neck snapped by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

**D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 **~

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** 17 ~

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

**D12 Trip Moors, 15** ~

* * *

><p><strong>This MIGHT be the last update this week...I'm goin' camping, perfect timing with temperatures in the high 90's. <strong>


	23. Allies?

**Ok, I lied. One more chapter before I leave! I kinda get obssessive with writing at times. I love all my tributes. In case you haven't noticed: I do short chapters, but update really quickly.**

* * *

><p><strong>oO0~Day 1~0Oo<strong>

**Cane Jacobi (D11)**

I was expecting something brutal after years of watching the Games on tv. But nothing could ever prepare me for actually seeing it right in front of me. I heard the screams. I saw the blood. I saw the pain. I saw death.

I said to meet me away from the Cornucopia. Granted, there was none this year but hopefully I can still meet up with my allies. If they are still alive that it is. There are only two doors exiting the giant starting room. I want to be able to be unseen, yet still see so I can find them. There is one street corner where I can observe, but there is little coverage.

Perfect. Right across the street from the Training Center is a two story burgundy building. I dash across the street avoiding the cars (Frogger, anyone?) . There are a couple crates in the alleyway next to the building. I leap onto one and pull myself up onto a window ledge. From there, I just grab the gutter and scramble on up. It's not that different than climbing trees in District 11.

I lie flat on the roof. It's actually not a bad view. I watch as people make their way out of the building. No one even looks my way. If I was good with a bow and arrow, I would've been able to easily pick them off one by one. Wait! There's Rayd!

Of course, he doesn't see me. But luckily, he crosses the street to avoid Katsu who is waving a sword menacingly screaming insults after someone. He pants for breath. I leap off the building and into the alley without a sound.

"Psst, Rayd! Over here," I hiss as loudly as I dare.

His head twists side to side, trying to locate the voice. He finally spots me. I motion him over and he ducks into the alleyway. He hands me a long knife. Nice.

"Where's everyone else? Are they alive?" I ask. I honestly have no idea. I ran out of there as quick as possible. I didn't waste time grabbing supplies or anything. What good would they be if I was dead?

"Echo was right behind me, I think. I don't know about 7."

Right on cue, Echo sneaks into our hiding spot. Rayd grins at her.

We silently watch the building for another moment. "Should we go and let them catch up?" Echo asks hesitantly. I was thinking the same thing. The sooner we leave, the bigger head start we have once the careers come prowling on the hunt.

"Um, sure, I guess," I say.

"Which way should we go?" Rayd asks. I have no idea.

"Does it matter? We are enclosed in an arena; we just need to stay alive!"

We exit the alley and turn right. We start a steady paced hike, not slowing down but not speeding either.

It's not too long before a voice cuts through the fog, "Wait up!". The shadowy figure comes closer and it turns out being Reeve. Well, that's three out my four allies already here. "Were you just gonna leave me?"

"Of course not!" Echo cuts in before I can even open my mouth, "We were just creating some distance between us and the...um...starting place."

"Ok then, let's get going!" he says.

"Shouldn't we wait for Cascade? I hate to think about her being all alone," Rayd suggests. It isn't even his girlfriend. I was expecting that from Reeve, not him.

"She'll be fine!" Reeve says, "Let's get out of here, people were looking awful bloodthirsty if you ask me!"

I feel bad, not waiting. But I gotta do what's best for the alliance here. We head out, for good this time. Sorry Cascade.

**Jeff Jester (D10)**

Living nightmare. That's the only words to describe this hell.

It would be bad enough it was just me. But it's not. Sammy is here too. I have no idea where though. I don't know if she's alive or dead. I'm not sure which answer I'd be more worried to hear. I'd be relieved to hear anything right now. The stress is killing me, bad choice of words there. But it's true.

A piercing scream fills the air. Not thinking, I run towards the sound. Idiotic I know. Let's run to the scream, Jeff, it will only lead to your death!

By the sound of it, It sounded like someone was seriously injured. I run into Nala from District 11. Guess it's a false alarm. By the looks of it, she just got scared by something.

"You ok?" I ask.

"No!" she snaps at me, "How can I be ok!"

"Maybe it was a stupid question..."

"Ya think!"

She's about to say something, but she stops with her mouth half open. Her eyes grow wide. What's behind me? Cautiously, I turn around. What in the world?

"Caesar Flickerman, here on site at the 80th Hunger Games..." What! This isn't right! He looks just like he did when we did the interviews **(A/N: haha, or not)**. He has eerie violet hair, eyes, and lips giving him a very monotonous look. His pale skin is drawn and stretched looking as if it was too small for his face. He cracks a huge smile, revealing pointed teeth. Those definitely weren't there during the interviews!

"Duck!" Nala screams at me. Her voice is so urgent, that I immediately do as she says.

She swings a sword, not like they taught at training but like you would a scythe. Caesar-monster-zombie-Flickerman-thing's head goes flying off. I taste the puke in my mouth. Eew.

The body just stands there, completely motionless. "What was that!" I ask.

"I have no idea," Nala whispers, "but I don't like it."

"It's, um, dead, right?" I spoke too soon. Way to go!

The headless body bends over and starts feeling around. It's hand grabs at my foot and I quickly kick it off me. Every muscle in my body is screaming to run, but I can't. I stand there, staring mesmerized at the thing, mutt, whatever it is.

The detached head starts talking, "So Jeff..."

That's freaky. I kick it like a soccer ball and the head goes soaring across the street. It's laughing the whole way over. It "doesn't sound natural; it's like a cheesy laugh track.

"Nice shot," Nala says.

"Thanks."

"Allies?"

I see no harm in that, for now anyways.

* * *

><p><strong>Still no new deaths...<strong>

**D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 **~(Rubye, Alex, Abby, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, Abby, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Abby, D.C.)

**D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesty of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, Abby)

**D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 **~

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, 18 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

**D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 **~

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (neck snapped by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

**D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 **~ (Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** 17 ~ (Jeff)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

**D12 Trip Moors, 15** ~

_Caesar Flickerman Zombie/Mutt..._


	24. A Monster

**And I'm back! Yes it is short, I have a really short attention span...ooooh sharpies! Where was I? Oh yeah, next chapter:**

* * *

><p><strong>oO0~Day 1~0Oo<strong>

**Katsu Mirehi (D3) **

Thin wisps of fog twirl around, whipped by the wind. The buildings are bright, almost neon, colored so the contrast is really odd, yet intriguing. It give the whole city a menacing haunting look. It is actually kinda beautiful, in a backwards, nontraditional way. The only bad thing about the fog is that it obscures my vision. I can't really see clearly more than fifteen or twenty feet ahead of me. Another bad thing is that I'm sure my hair is a frizzy mess in this humidity! I'm on national television, everyone is required to watch, and my hair probably looks horrible. Great. Just what I needed.

The bloodbath, in my personal opinion, wasn't that much of a bloodbath. I was hoping for pools of blood and almost half of the competitors dead. But no. Only five people died! What is up with that! I took out the annoying kid. And thank goodness too! He wouldn't shut up, ever. My sword was so sharp that his head flew off much quicker than I had anticipated. I was expecting to have to put a little bit more muscle into it. Nope. The lifeless face just stood there, staring at me with dull gray eyes wide with shock. He should've seen it coming. I have no sympathy for weaklings. None whatsoever.

I practically skip down the street. Might as well show all of Panem how happy I am to be here. Granted, most girls skip with their dolls in their hands, not a bloodstained blade. But I'm not like most girls. In case the world hasn't noticed. Whenever I watch the Games on tv, someone always breaks down crying after the kill. I'm not going to be that person. If I cried, it would be tears of joy, a great unattainable happiness.

I stare out into the shadows, looking for I'm not sure what. I hear a faint rustle not too far ahead of me. It must be someone else. Someone else that I can kill. I creep forward silently, working the fog to my advantage so I'm not seen. The shadowy figure ahead of me keeps moving forward at a fairly steady pace he/she/it doesn't hear me. I grip my sword tightly in my hand. Let the fun begin.

I charge forward and catch whoever it was off-guard. I lightly slash the sword against the person's legs, right below the knees. I don't do it to kill, but to injure and cripple. She screams and falls to the ground. What a glorious sound of aching pain. She turns around to face me. There is pain in her large green eyes, but it is eclipsed by something much, much more powerful. Fear.

The District 8 girl doesn't even have a weapon. How can you leave the Training Center without a weapon and expect to win? There is no way she could've had sponsors, well that's my opinion anyway. She has no drive, no passion, and no desire to kill. Who would want to support someone like that in the Hunger Games of all places?

"What?" I ask, might as well taunt my victim. She's gonna be dead in a minute anyway.

She just shakes her head and braces herself for the final blow. Oh well, she is basically giving me permission to kill her. I raise my sword and send it crashing down upon her skull. Oh the sweet blood that pours from the wound.

**Trip Moors (D12)**

Guess it's an understatement to say that my life has been steadily going downhill since the moment I opened my eyes to this dark world. Some things are better left unseen. There is a loss of innocence to all of those who are in these Games. There is no way that the winner of this thing will be without guilt. I feel a deep pit in my stomach, and I haven't even so much as attempted to kill someone.

I feel so bad for all those who have lost themselves to the killer within. There is a monster inside of everyone just waiting to be released into the world. There is no escape from it. It feeds on the soul and eats the heart whole. It destroys all. The beast is ugly; I want to keep it trapped in me. I don't want to release it and create more havoc in this upturned world.

Is there any way out of here where I don't have to kill? A way to escape both innocent and pure? I don't want any more trouble. I don't want any more pain. I don't want to cause anyone to hurt.

Most people are cruel in some way or another. But none can ever top the Capitol. Sure, there are probably a few good people there, but as a whole they are nothing short of the villains that the District 12 citizens claim they are. They have pitted us against each other. And for what? Power. That's all they are really after. They would be nothing without the Districts to provide for their every need.

The Capitol hides behind its power. If it showed it's true self, there would be nothing but an empty shell. It is weak. That is why they do these horrendous things like the Hunger Games. It keeps the Districts divided. There is never any emphasis about important things: forgiveness, hope, and life. Panem revolves around power, deceit, and death.

My eyes have seen more pain and agony than anyone ever deserves to see. That was before the Games. Now that I am here, things have only gotten worse. There is no way that they are going to get better either.

* * *

><p><em>And someone FINALLY dies!<em>

**D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 **~(Rubye, Alex, Abby, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, Abby, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Abby, D.C.)

**D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesty of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, Abby)

**D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 **~

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, 18 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (neck snapped by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

**D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 **~ (Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** 17 ~ (Jeff)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

**D12 Trip Moors, 15** ~

_Caesar Flickerman Zombie/Mutt..._

* * *

><p><strong>Thoughts or comments? Your thoughts matter!<strong>


	25. Starting

**oO0~Day 1~0Oo**

**Crowe Garnet (D4)**

I walk down the straight streets. I turn right. I turn left. I walk for what seems like hours. I'm completely turned around by this point. I have no idea where anything is, or was. All I know is that the cannon has gone off six times, so that means that six tributes have died. Well that six lives closer than I was earlier today. Maybe I can make it out alive.

Tall buildings are all around me, blocking the view of anything more than a block away from me. There is no way of knowing what is around the next corner.

Voices! In front of me! Shoot! It has to be the careers! Just what I need. I back up slowly, not wanting to be seen. If there is talking, it must mean that there is more than one person. Which, obviously, means that I'm outnumbered. I take an uneasy step backwards and back into a brick wall of a person. If person is even the right word to describe him. I'm not sure, but this might be scarier then crossing paths with the careers.

I jump back and turn to face him. I can't help but to stare. It's that 9 guy, Slice. He has so many scars just across his face and neck that it's surprising that he is even alive. One smacks right across his cheek. Another cuts down right between his eyes, starting up on his forehead and snaking down across his nose. But the scariest one is a deep, nasty scar on his neck. You have to wonder what's all happened to him, and more importantly, how he is still alive.

Neither of us say anything; we just stand there, motionless, staring at each other. This guy could, and still can, easily kill me. My heart starts pounding really hard at the thought, within seconds, I can be dead.

Slice's blue eyes bore into me, as if he is trying to figure something out. Seriously! How can you not be scared of a person named Slice of all things! What should I do? It's literally a life or death situation at the moment. Not exactly where I wanted to be on the first day: lost and standing in front of a beast.

I can't stand the tension! "So..." I start, not knowing what I'm going to say next.

His mouth goes up in a half smile-so he can smile!-and repeats me, "So..." He takes a small, sure step forward and I take one backwards. I'd rather keep a bit of distance here. Luck is not on my side, he closes the gap between us.

I'm not exactly sure how or when it happened, but one of his scarred hands is resting on the side of my face. The sensation isn't pleasant. His hand is icy and hard. I shudder slightly and jerk away.

Slice looks at me carefully, as if trying to size me up. His face remains blank and emotionless, but he raises a single eyebrow like an unspoken question. Really, how do people do that? It bugs me.

"What!" I snap. He just shakes his head ever so slightly. I feel really uncomfortable, and it doesn't help the fact that he can kill me any second. His left hand has never left the knife hanging at his belt.

I step back, I didn't quite realize how close we really are-no, were. "What!" I snap again. Is he deaf? Or just stupid?

"Nothing," he says. His voice is somewhat haunting sounding. It's so calm, yet so threatening at the same time.

I turn quickly and run away. Stupid move, but I, well, there is no excuses. I could either stand there and be killed or attempt to escape. Either way, I'm sure I'm going to be dead here in a minute or two. I flinch, expecting to feel a knife or spear fly into me, taking my life. But none come. The only sound is my feet upon the pavement. No pursuit, weird. If I had someone who I know I could kill, I wouldn't let them escape quite so easily.

But that doesn't stop me. I keep running. I'm not taking any chances

**Alex Lear (D2)**

"Now what?" D.C. asks.

"What else? We track down the others," I tell him. No one objects, I'm the strongest here. There is no competition.

Rubye keeps tossing her knife into the air and catching it. I will laugh hysterically if she ends up cutting off her fingers. She says, "So are we, like, splitting up?"

"Now why would we do something stupid like that?" Abby snaps at her. Oh great, the girls are at it again. They can't agree on freaking anything. It's getting annoying. I'm gonna enjoy it once they decide to stop arguing and start actually fighting. Like to the death. Like it should be.

"It's not stupid! We could cover a lot more ground that way!"

"Yeah, but who knows if we will ever be able to find each other again!"

Silver just rolls his eyes. Apparently I'm not the only one getting aggravated. I look at him and he shrugs.

"We'll stick together," I decide.

"Yeah..." D.C. says, but then he trails off and doesn't finish. His train of thought is a runaway. Always.

"Strength in numbers," Abby says. Jeez, does she have to state the semi-obvious?

"Not that we need it; there's no way anyone else stands a chance against us!" Rubye says, trying to get in the last word.

Let's see if we can start hunting before I kill both of them.

The other tributes better watch out, here we come. Let the real game begin...

* * *

><p><strong>D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 <strong>~(Rubye, Alex, Abby, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, Abby, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Abby, D.C.)

**D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, Abby)

**D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 **~

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, 18 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

**D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 **~ (Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** 17 ~ (Jeff)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

**D12 Trip Moors, 15** ~

_Caesar Flickerman Zombie/Mutt..._

* * *

><p><em>Six down, seventeen to go...only one will survive.<em>


	26. First Night

**oO0~The First Night~0Oo**

**Echo Drifting (D5)**

I remember long days at school. You know the ones that never seem to end? I'd be so bored sitting in class, just waiting for the last bell to ring so I can be free. Even the longest day possible is nothing compared to this. It's hard to believe that just this morning I was being served breakfast in a large dining room. And now, I am here in an arena in which there is only a four percent chance of me making it out alive. Great huh? At least with school, I knew I'd be able to run home as soon as the day was over. It goes without saying that I'd rather be there, back at home with my family.

Well, there's not really much to say about what's been going on here. I'm sure the cameras have been focused on other, more dramatic conflicts. Who would really care about Reeve, Cane, Rayd, and me wandering around this whole time? That's basically all we've done. I'm not complaining; it's better than coming across other tributes who want to kill you. The most exciting thing that's happened is Cane-completely out of nowhere-scaling a wall and doing a flip. Apparently just walking wasn't energetic enough for him. Poor kid, he's by far the youngest in our alliance. How that happened, I have no idea.

Stating the obvious: it's getting darker as the sun sets. Soon it will be hard to see where we're going. Not that we're going anywhere specific, but still.

"Wanna stop for the night?" I ask. Wandering around blind in a place I don't know is not high on my to-do list.

The guys stop and look at me. How did I end up as the only girl here? "Um, sure," Rayd says, but it sounds more like a question than a sure answer.

Cane's eyebrows push together as he thinks it through, "Fine. But let's find a place at least a little bit defendable, for you know..."

He doesn't have to finish his thought. We all know what is going through his mind. Careers. Tracking. Attacking. Killing. Not exactly the thing you want to happen, like, at all.

We scout around the area for a few minutes, looking for the 'perfect' place. It's kind of hard to define 'perfect'. If we choose a crumbling building, we might get surrounded and trapped. On the other hand, in the middle of the street is a bit too obvious, and besides we'd end up as roadkill. 'Perfect' ends up being the mouth of an alleyway. We're somewhat sheltered, but we can still make an easy escape.

I sit down and lean against the dusty brick wall. I'm exhausted and now that I'm sitting I realize it. My eyes are slowly shutting when Cane interrupts my almost sleep, "Should we set up a watch? I don't want to be caught unaware, you know."

"I'll go first, I guess," Rayd volunteers. Hmm...do I want to sleep now and get woken up in a few hours or do I want to tough it out now and sleep uninterrupted later? Decisions, decisions. I'm so tired, that I don't think my brain isn't functioning right.

"Me too," I add. Reeve shrugs and collapses into sleep, guess I'm not the only tired one. Jeez, I hope he doesn't snore. That would be horrible. Not only will it give away our position, but it will get real annoying, real quick!

"Wake us up in a couple hours," Cane yawns. He curls up; the knife doesn't leave his hand, even in sleep. It's amazing what the fear of death will do to you. No one should be forced to do this, especially little kids like him.

I stand up and start pacing, trying to stay awake. I don't want to be the one to let this alliance down. Honestly, I don't anyone to let this alliance down! Rayd stares at me for a minute.

"Echo?"

"Yeah?" that came out sounding a lot more tired than it should. Hope it doesn't make me sound too pathetic.

"I got this. Go to sleep" Ah, the word sound so inviting, but I can't.

"I'm not gonna leave you to this alone," I mumble.

"You're not going to be a whole lot of good like that," he points out.

Sadly, it doesn't take much convincing. "Fine," I mutter as I lie down. My eyes are so heavy that they just close on their own...

A voice cuts through my dreamless sleep, "Echo!"

My body doesn't want to move, but I force my eyes to open. Where the heck am I? Oh my gosh! Why is my head resting on some guy's lap of all places! Startled, I sit up straight. Rayd looks at me and grins slightly. How long have I been out? How did I end up there of all places! Rayd is cute, but still! This is the Hunger Games and I was practically in his lap. Asleep! How much more awkward can this get?

Cane looks at me weirdly and then points up to the sky. I welcome any distraction at the moment. "They're gonna show the dead," he whispers.

The dead. Those words make it seem so real. I stare up at the starless sky. Instead of a tribute's face, someone else comes up. It's not a pretty picture, or even an ugly one. It's just freaky looking. I can barely-just barely-recognize the figure as Claudius Templesmith. His skin has turned a shade of pale green and his dark purple lips are puffed out grotesquely. He looks like he has decomposed; I can even see his cheek bone exposed from the stretched out skin.

The gravelly, moaning voice booms out through the still night, "So, eighteen are still alive. But just you wait, you're time is coming soon..." Way to put a downer on things! "Six of your fellow tributes have died, and we have only finished the first day!"

The projection of Templesmith fades into the darkness, until it leaves only a ghostly appearance. Weird. Pictures fill the screen. There is a pit in my stomach, even though I had nothing to do with these deaths. It's seems so distant; I just saw all of these people less than twenty-four hours ago and now they will never talk again. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. No one says anything for a long minute.

Then Cascade Price's bright, shining face lights up the sky. Oh no. Reeve's girlfriend. Even though they've only known each other for a week, they seemed so close.

I look over at him. He sits there, dumbstruck for a minute.

"Reeve?" I ask hesitantly.

He just looks at me blankly. Poor guy.

"You ok?" I ask again. Is he in shock?

He nods mutely after a second. This is the first time I've seen him without a smile on his face. There's no tears, yet.

I can't help it. I walk over and give him a huge hug. He relaxes slightly and then rests his forehead on the top of my shoulder. I can feel his deep, almost ragged breaths. I rub his back gently in comfort.

The sorrow must be eating at him. It would be hard having someone you love in the arena. I can't even imagine. It's hard enough just to be here on your own, without any attachments to anyone.

I look over Reeve's shoulder at the others. They seem at loss of what to do. Come to think of it, I don't know what to do either. It's one of those situations where you really don't want to say the wrong thing and make it worse, but you don't want to say nothing either. I sigh quietly. The pain can only get worse from here.

* * *

><p><strong>D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 <strong>~(Rubye, Alex, Abby, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, Abby, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Abby, D.C.)

**D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, Abby)

**D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 **~

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, 18 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

**D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 **~ (Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** **17** ~ (Jeff)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

**D12 Trip Moors, 15** ~


	27. You Better Run

**oO0~The First Night~0Oo**

**Abby Pryse (D2)**

"Where do we go first?" D.C. asks. We are armed and ready to go. It's in the job description of the career, I suppose. We have to track down and kill the others. There is no other option.

My dad was in these Games so many years ago. Obviously he came back, or else I wouldn't be alive. I wonder what he thought about. Did he enjoy the killing like some careers do, or was he remorseful? I like to believe that he was emotional over the murders he committed. Why else would he have been haunted night and day by people and things that weren't always there?

I haven't killed anyone, yet. But what will happen when I do? Would I be heartless and not feel a thing? Or will I feel a deep and terrible guilt? I'm not sure which one I'd be more worried about. Worse, what if I go insane like he did?

"Well, most people ran away from the Training Center..." I start.

"No freaking duh!" Rubye snaps. She's always so negative. I don't think I would mind killing her when the time comes. Nothing too early though, or else the others will turn on me.

"So, where would you go? If you were running away" I finished.

"Uh...away?" D.C. suggests. I try not to slap my head in frustration.

"Let's get going!" Alex practically bellows. Ugh, no plan? Like at all? These imbeciles! What if something goes wrong!

Of course, everyone starts walking in opposite directions. It's like a really bad comedy. I can almost hear the cheesy laugh track now.

"This way," Silver points. His voice is low in volume, but commanding in tone. With nothing else to do, we follow him and hope he picked a good direction.

**Jeremy Soraks (D5)**

I now officially hate cars. Even if I win this thing I will never willing go in one. I've almost been run down about three times. Who's driving these damn things anyway! I pretty much hate cities now too. Which kinda sucks, considering that District 5 is mostly city. Huh.

"Oh my gosh! It looks so easy on tv!" a girl's voice echoes from down the street.

"Shut up! What part of be fricken quiet don't you get!" a guy snaps at her.

Shit. This can't be good. I look over my shoulder at the pack of tributes behind me. I don't think they've seen me yet, or I'd be dead.

I back into an alley. I crouch down and hold as still as possible. If there was only one of them, I'd take them on. But I'm not a fan of five against one.

Their footsteps grow louder as they come closer. I'd be surprised if they can't hear my heart pounding so hard. As of right now, these are the scariest minutes of my life. Each second drags.

The careers slowly (seriously, can you go much slower?) walk by. I realize that I've been holding my breath. I let it out in a long sigh. Safe. For now anyway. I wait a minute and then stand up; all my muscles are so tense right now. I back up, heading out of the alley.

CRASH! Shit! A ton of metal trash cans fall over in succession, like a row of dominoes. Who da thunk that trash cans of all things can make such a racket. I can just imagine my life falling with them.

"What was that!" one of the careers shout. Damn it. I turn to run and trip over one of the cans. I scramble to my feet, creating even more noise as the metal scrapes against the pavement. You would have to be deaf to not know where I am now.

I hear the pack running my direction. On my way out, I shove some of the trash cans behind me to slow them down. I hear the clatters and shouts as the careers stumble. I run as if my life depends on it, and trust me, it does!

They don't give up! Well, that doesn't surprise me any. I run along a street and make as many turns as possible, hoping to lose them. No such luck.

They are right around the corner. I have to get away; it's the only way to live. I scan the buildings. Perfect. A rusty fire escape stairs climbs up a rustic brick building. I leap up and grab the bottom rung of the ladder, ignoring the sharp edges digging to my hands. I haul myself up and climb up the ladder as quickly as I can. I'm almost to the winding stairs part when I feel it.

A deep, searing pain cuts right in the back of my shoulder. I try to ignore it and pull myself up. Each move of my right arm makes my shoulder burn. I haul myself up onto the ledge and run up the stairs to the rooftop.

For the most part, it's flat roofs. Granted, there are some fences along the edge which makes it harder to leap from building to building. But hey, it's not stopping me any.

A shrill scream of obscenities fill the still air. Guess they realized that they didn't get a kill. The haunting sound kinda terrifies me. I get to where I can see them and lie down, wincing as I put pressure on my right arm.

"Where did that fricken idiot go!" a guy hollers, I'm pretty sure it's D.C.

"I nailed him! I know I did!" that District 1 girl cheers. Kinda creepy, getting so excited about potentially killing someone.

"Then where's the cannon shot, genius? It would go off if he's dead" Abby snaps at her.

"I never miss..." she starts.

"Sure sounds like you did," the District 2 guy taunts. I'm not sure, but I think she's glaring at him.

"He went on the roof," a voice I can barely hear says, "Let's go!" Oh shoot.

I stand up quickly, but quietly this time, and take a flying leap to a lower roof. I make my way away from the careers; all while heading back to the ground. After awhile, I can't hear them anymore. Either I lost them, or they are being quiet. The second one is a long shot, so I think I might be in the clear for now.

I don't run, but I keep a decent pace, continually moving away from where I last saw the careers. Now that the adrenaline is gone, I'm starting to feel my arm hurt at every step. I turn my head to look at it and almost black out at the swift motion.

There, protruding from my back right by my arm is a knife. I reach over and touch it, and find my fingers in something sticky. Blood. My blood.

* * *

><p><strong>D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 <strong>~(Rubye, Alex, Abby, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, Abby, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Abby, D.C.)

**D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18 **~ (Silver, Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, Abby)

**D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 **~

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, 18 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

**D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 **~ (Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** **17** ~ (Jeff)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

**D12 Trip Moors, 15** ~


	28. New Place

**Heads up, I'm gonna be gone next week being a camp counselor. So I might have one more update before I leave, might not. I don't know yet. You'll find out as soon as I do :)**

**oO0~Day 2~0Oo**

**Slice (D9)**

As I walk farther away from the Training Center, the buildings become smaller and spaced farther apart. Granted, they become a little bit more absurd looking, but this is an arena anything can go I suppose. After awhile, the city is in the distance. I'm basically in a field or meadow. Interesting shift in landscape. Part of me knows that the city is probably a better bet. There are plenty of places to hide out and ambush. But the other part, a strange but intriguing part, wants to explore this place. I want to see all there is to see; also, I want a challenge. I'm used to assassinations in a cityscape; I want to see how I can handle a different terrain.

I head toward the dark line of shadow on the horizon. It looks like a cloud of smoke, puffing and billowing towards the sky. It doesn't look like fire smoke, more like a thinner heat steam. Either way, I'd like to discover what it is. Maybe I can use the knowledge to my advantage later.

There is something odd in the air; I can't quite place it though. It's different from anything else. There is a weird almost electric static mixed in with the natural wind. A shudder runs through me, though I don't exactly know why. There isn't really a change in temperature.

The vague outline of buildings grows more defined. It appears to be one large, long building. The steam pours out of several exhaust pipes stacked on the roof. The building looks out of place in the meadow, so far away from all others. It stands out so it might have a purpose. I don't know what that would be, I don't have a twisted Capitol gamemaker mind, but whatever it is I want to learn more.

Keeping a tab on my surrounding is second nature to me. If you don't know what's around you, you don't know what might kill you. I circle the building, looking for anything suspicious (other than the fact it's out in the middle of nowhere). Nothing catches my eye, so I push on the large iron doors. They groan beneath the pressure and then ever so slowly swing open. The air is musty, as if no one has been in here for ages. But that isn't possible, they must've built the arena fairly recently.

A steady clang and clatter fills the building with constant noise. It's dark, but from the light streaming in the open door I can see large outlines of some equipment. There might be something useful in here. I need light. I turn to step outside. I had planned on looking for something to make a torch with. I learned during training that you can twist together prairie grass (which I'm assuming the stuff outside is) to make a decent kindling. It won't last long, but at least I'd be able to see.

Why did I even bother learning that? As soon as my back is turned, the lights slowly flicker on. Sure the lighting is dim, but I can see and I don't have to risk an unreliable light source. I walk in taking in everything. It appears to be machinery of some sort, though why it's here I don't have a clue. I walk up and down the aisles, but that's all it is: long rows of tall, rectangular machines. They don't seem very modern, or very efficient. I can even see gears and wires turning and sparking. It doesn't look like it'd meet safety standards.

I've seen enough. I head back to the entrance. Hmm...that's different. I could've sworn that there was a path right there. I turn left and head down between the long columns of the machines. Dead end. I turn swiftly on my heel. I'm surrounded. How were they able to move so fast, yet so silently?

First things first, I'm not going to ruin my sword on this crap. A blunt bent sword will be useless against other tributes. I walk up to the closest machine and unhinge a sturdy lever off of it. The thing retaliates by spitting fire out at me. I roll swiftly out of the way. I swing out my newly found club and put a dent in the nearest thing. It shudders at the impact. I put all my weight into the next swing, hoping to create a path out of here. The machine mechanically roars at me. It appears to grow, getting higher and higher until it is closer to the high ceilings. A gear goes shooting out of it and I barely dodge it. It goes soaring into the machine across from it.

The new machine hisses and then shoots out an armada of wires. Honestly, it looks like electric spaghetti come to life. I step out of range of their sparking ends. Electrocution is not the way I want to go. The last and only stationary machine decides that it is being left out. It sprouts wheels and comes charging at me. I beat it with the club, but it is metal and all it does is dent. A machine gun would be nice right about now. It'd work so much better than all these primitive weapons.

I'm used to multiple adversaries, but not ones that I can't kill. I fall to the ground, avoiding the fire being sprayed right above my head. I need to think outside the box. The sparking wires come dangerously close and I roll out of the way. Maybe the better plan would to be to outsmart the machines.

That's it. I leap to my feet and charge the nearest machine. Predictably, a stream of fire comes after me. I time my dodge so the flames splatter into the other machine. I can feel the heat radiate from the melting metal. Melting metal! I jump to my feet and away from the liquid creeping closer towards me. One down, two to go.

The medusa of wires comes hissing towards me. Without thinking the consequences through, I grab two handfuls of the wire and shove into the flame thrower. A shock runs through my body, sending me to the ground, but I ignore the pain. Sparks literally fly as the two machines start trembling at the impact. I run away.

The explosion echoes through the building and sends me flying to my feet. I cover my head with my hands, basic defense strategy. After a few seconds, once sound of the shrapnel rain stops, I scramble to my feet and run out of the building. All that's left behind me is a pile of twisted, smoking metal.

I stand outside the fairly innocent looking building. From the outside you can't imagine the horrors within. I take a deep breath, and inhale the unmistakable scent of burning flesh. I look down at my hands; they are red and blistered. I rest them gently on my pants, thinking.

There is a chemical back home that Astrid developed that would heal this kind of burn quite easily. At the thought of Astrid, a pit in my chest starts to hurt. Was I injured there too? I don't remember feeling it. But then again, adrenaline can cover pain for awhile. I rip off my shirt, to examine for wounds. Staring at my chest, I see many more scars than I'd like too but there is nothing new. Then why is there a slightly throbbing pain?

I wonder if the wound is internal. But how did it get there? Electric shock wouldn't hurt like that would it? Did I inhale some fumes? Whatever the case, it needs to be healed. But how? I don't even know what it is.

* * *

><p><strong>Still no new dead...<strong>

**D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 **~(Rubye, Alex, Abby, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, Abby, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Abby, D.C.)

**D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18 **~ (Silver, Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, Abby)

**D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 **~

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~wounded...

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, 18 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

**D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 **~ (Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** **17** ~ (Jeff)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

**D12 Trip Moors, 15** ~

* * *

><p><strong>Emotionless people, jeez, didn't see that one coming. I don't think I'm giving Slice the justice he deserves, because he is truly fascinating.<strong>


	29. Can't think of a Title Name!

**Well, I go to a weeklong Camp "have monsters/children attack me", so this is the last update for awhile. I'll be back late next week though! If I survive...**

* * *

><p><strong>oO0~Day 2~0Oo<strong>

**Darcy Plear (D6)**

I follow the gentle sound of a groan. I'm not sure why. Something is pitiful in the sound. I peek into the alley, where the sound is loudest. A guy is hunched over, his back towards me. I can't tell if he's asleep or what. Either way, it doesn't matter.

I told myself that I would do whatever it takes to get home. I will kill and I will do it without thinking twice. A life is just a life. It stands in my way. Nothing will stop me.

I sneak up behind him and draw in a deep breath. I need to do this. I give the dagger in my hand a quick twirl. The early morning light glints off of the silver blade, making a small reflection. I raise the weapon into the air, readying it to come crashing down.

He just had to turn around. I could've, would've, done it. Kill him. Two simple words, one simple action. His dark, almost pitch black eyes bore into me. There isn't exactly fear in them, but there is a spark. Maybe it is acceptance, maybe regret, maybe pain. Either way, it stabs through me. A guilty conscious will be worth it if I make it out of here alive.

Don't hesitate. I bring the blade crashing down. He leans over and the dagger just barely misses him. He leaps to his feet. Oh crap. Didn't realize how tall he is! He towers over me. It's that District 5 guy, Jeremy.

Well, it's now or never. I try to close the gap between us with a quick step forward while thrusting the dagger out. He deflects the blow with a bloody knife. So he has killed, or at the very least injured someone. All the more reason to take him out.

"Really!" he snaps.

"What!" I snap back, trying to get the blade through his defenses. I almost get him a couple times, but he manages (barely) to block each blow. He's somewhat clumsy with the blade, he makes the bare minimum of movement. Almost as if it hurts him to defend.

I stab towards his chest and he quickly drops his knife and grabs my wrist. Shit. I kick out at him, trying to nail him in the balls. Low, I know but there's no rules in a life or death fight. He twists me around and my foot contacts with nothing but air. I twist my captured wrist trying to cut him with the dagger.

"Dammit!" he hisses. Success!

He doesn't let go, but he twists me around to face him. "Darcy, right?" he almost whispers. I nod hesitantly. Why would he ask my name if he's just going to kill me?

He bends down and scoops up the knife, wincing slightly. He presses it to my throat, about ready to slit. I brace myself; I was hoping to last longer than this. He freezes mid-motion.

"Did you hear that?" he whispers.

"What?" I snap, being so close to death doesn't help my mood!

He slaps his hand over my mouth, "I'm not getting caught by careers or nothing due to your big mouth!"

I try to say that it's wouldn't be my fault, but of course it only comes out as a garbled mumble. Jeremy looks down at me and grins nervously. Gosh, did he have to smile? That doesn't help anything!

I got to get away from him, hopefully ending this with me alive and him dead. He is standing really still, listening. I strain my ears but I don't hear a freaking thing. Well...

I kick at him again, making contact with his shins. He jumps surprised and loosens his grip for a mere second. That is all I need. I wrench free from his grasp. I look around for the dagger; go figure, it's right behind Jeremy.

He lunges forwards, not sure what he plans on doing though. He is off balance; I shove down on his shoulders and take a leap over him. How I accomplished that, I'm not quite sure. I'm not complaining though!

I bend over to scoop up the dagger and turn right back around to look at him. The hilt slips slightly in my grasp. I take a nanosecond to look down. My palm is a glistening red. I glance back up at Jeremy. He is clutching his shoulder. Weaponless. Now's my chance.

But I blow it. The words are out of my mouth before I even think about it, "Oh. My. Gosh. Did I do that?"

He laughs bitterly, "No." My puzzled face must've said it all. "Run in with the careers last night."

And he is alive? Wow, I watched them during training. Surviving the careers would be quite the feat.

"You didn't get any packs, did you?" he asks warily.

What is he getting at? I think back at the small red backpack I grabbed at the beginning. There wasn't much in it, just a couple granola bars. Not much in the food department, if you ask me. I'm supposed to survive who knows how long. I'm not feeling to good about that.

"Don't kill me. If you do, you won't know where I stashed some provisions," he says with a sly grin.

Crap! I had to listen to him. How can I kill him now knowing that his information might be my life or death later? What if I'm starving later? I wouldn't be able to deal with it knowing that I willingly passed up on the promise of food.

I hate making choices!

"Well?" He asks.

I lower my dagger, "Fine. But don't expect this to last long."

"Trust me, I don't," he says.

* * *

><p><strong>D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 <strong>~(Rubye, Alex, Abby, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, Abby, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Abby, D.C.)

**D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18 **~ (Silver, Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex, Abby)

**D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 **~

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~(Darcy)

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, 18 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~ (Jeremy)

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

**D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 **~ (Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** **17** ~ (Jeff)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

**D12 Trip Moors, 15** ~

* * *

><p><strong>Reviews Please!<strong>


	30. Death

**And I'm back! It's really, really short, but I wanted to get something up. School starts next week and I have a really heavy load this year (in addtion to having to study for the SAT), so updates are going to slow down :( I hope to get at least one chapter up a week, if I can.**

* * *

><p><strong>oO0~Day 2~0Oo<strong>

**Abby Pryse (D2)**

We trek through endless meadows. No one has said a word for the past couple hours. I can't say that I'm complaining.

We are a pretty pathetic bunch of careers it would seem. As a whole, we've only killed two. Well, wonder why? Rubye is too preoccupied with tracking down the 10 chick to be much of use. Her district partner Silver is really quiet, maybe he is shy or something. I assumed that he would be too scared to kill, but no. Though in the end, the boy doesn't stand a chance. Alex, well, he might be decent. He just has to prove himself. D.C. is too much of a meathead: all brawn no brain. And then there is me. Even though I haven't trained in years, I'm holding my own. I think. I hope.

It's about time something happened around here. And it better happen soon; everyone is on edge, just waiting to snap.

What would happen if we fought right here, right now? Who would be left? Better question: who would be dead? I don't like thinking like this, but I have to. Every breath can be your last in this damned arena.

"You see that?" Alex hisses, pointing to the sky. I look in that direction. I don't think anything is there. I squint my eyes against the sun. There, not to far away, is the faintest wisp of...smoke? Really? A fire? I know it's daylight and all, but it's still easy to track!

Without another word, we head off in that direction. I slow down as we get closer, watching my every footstep to make sure I don't step on anything that will make a sound. Silver jerks his head to the left, and Rubye follows him, looping around to cut off any hope of escape. At least one person is going to die within the next couple of minutes.

I grab the hilt of my sword and slowly raise it. For the briefest second, I catch a glimpse of my reflection. I look like a warrior, strong and fearless. Now if only I can feel that way on the inside. My stomach isn't in butterflies; it's freaking hovercrafts exploding.

Now is the chance. I will focus. I will follow through. I will stay strong. No guilt, no pain.

I take a look at the tribute, I mean victim, crouched by the small flames cooking something. It's that Crowe chick. Unlucky her. She had a shot at joining us, but she denied the opportunity. Her loss.

SNAP! My head whips around to stare at where the sound came from. Damn it D.C.! A startled expression passes his scarred face.

I'm not the only one who noticed. Crowe looks up and sees us. I mean, really, we are about fifteen feet away from her. I'm surprised she hadn't found out earlier. If she is scared, it doesn't show much, except for a slight tremor in her eyes. She leaps to her feet and grabs a giant fork of a trident. Seriously, what is up with District 4 people and tridents?

Before anyone else can react, I charge her. The weapons smash together with a resounding clang. My sword slides between the prongs of her trident. Crowe grins and attempts to twist the blade from my grasp. I yank it out and swing it at her. She leans back and it barely misses her heart, scraping against her upper arm. A small stripe of red bubbles up. The only problem with tridents is that you only have three real options: stab, thrust, or throw. And of course, throwing a weapon when you are surrounded and outnumbered is just plain stupid. Crowe is quite limited right now.

She does the only thing she can. She stabs the weapon forward with all her might, hoping to nail me. I dodge to the right. Crowe tries to pull her weapon back in time to block my blow, but it is too late. I stab my sword forward and pierce her through the neck. A quick gurgled sound escapes from her throat as blood dribbles down her neck. I pull back the sword. Her cannon sounds before she even hits the ground.

I did it. She is dead. I killed someone. I was worried about guilt. What guilt? Right now, I feel absolutely nothing. I was worried about seeing things. Everything appears as it should. Everything is going to be okay.

With that thought, my emotions come flying at me. Joy. I have no guilt. I'm happy about not being guilty! As bad as that sounds, it's true. A huge smile is probably plastered to my face. I am a true career. I killed someone. I am on top of the world. I am invincible.

"Abby?" Alex says with a wicked grin.

I look down at his hands. They are speckled with blood. Slowly, he reaches forward and grabs a dagger, dripping with blood. I stare at the short blade for a long moment before I realize what just happened. He pulled it from my chest.

I was a true career. I killed someone. I was at the top of the world. I was invincible.

* * *

><p><strong>And so the tributes start to die...<strong>

**D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 **~(Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, D.C.)

D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18~ (betrayed by Alex)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex)

D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 ~ (stabbed by Abby)

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~(Darcy)

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, 18 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~ (Jeremy)

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

**D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 **~ (Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** **17** ~ (Jeff)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

**D12 Trip Moors, 15** ~


	31. Sisterly Love

**Long time, no update. I apologize. I told myself that I would have this up Fri nite, then I got loaded down with tons of homework... then a couple last minute back to school parties came up...and then I ended up sleeping all day Sunday...and then...excuses, excuses. My bad. Enough rambling**

* * *

><p><strong>oO0~Day 2~0Oo<strong>

**Silver Manhatten (D1)**

I stare at Abby's limp, bloodstained body. Somehow, I'm not surprised that she is the first in our alliance to go. I just didn't expect it to be quite so soon. Well, there is nothing else to be said on the matter I suppose. She's dead. It just puts me one step closer to my victory.

Her murderer grins, "Two deaths within three minutes of each other! Good start to the day, huh?"

Rubye nods blankly in consent. Death doesn't seem to bother her too much; she didn't flinch during the bloodbath or anything. But she seems...distracted. I don't like it. We need full focus if we are to get anything done as killers.

"She doesn't have much supplies," D.C. says, examining Crowe's belongings.

"Salvage what you can," I mutter. When we split up, the more supplies available the better.

"We need to find that 10 girl..." Rubye says absently.

"Sammy?" Alex asks. Rubye shoots him a glare, but nods. "Why?"

"She's a threat!"

"What planet are you from? The chick is, like, tiny. I don't think she could hurt a fly!" D.C. laughs.

"Shut up. She is."

"If anyone is a 'threat', it's that Slice guy," I say. It's true.

"Well, him too. But we need to find Sammy," Rubye spits out the name in disgust, "I call dibs on her death."

What is her freaking problem? They fight over a guy during training or something? Jeez, whatever the deal, I'd hate to be Sammy right now.

**Nala Wheat (D11)**

Jeff and I just trudge along. It took him awhile to calm down after that incident with the talking head. I have to admit, that was disturbing. What is up with this arena anyway? But now we are somewhat focused. Focused on avoiding people and just surviving.

The city fades into grassy plains, which in turn fades into fields. It's not just random fields of grass though, it's crop fields. Surviving will be easy, it's like they made this landscape for me! All those years toiling in blackberry patches will pay off. It will be so easy to live off the land this way, considering that this is real, not just poisonous look alike.

I walk up to a tall corn stalk. Seems legit, but it's suspicious. Naturally, corn won't be ripe for at least another month or two. But since this is an arena, and this is the Capitol, anything is possible. I break off an ear; the familiar 'snap' is there and it feels normal. Jeff raises a single eyebrow just waiting for the verdict.

"It seems ok..." I mutter. With a faint rustle, the stalks sway to the side. It's not the wind. Something, or someone, is in there! I grab the broad sword, readying myself mentally for anything that is to come.

Nothing could prepare me for what I heard. "Nala!" the voice calls eerily. It's definitely not Jeff's soft deep voice. It is a young girl's, piercing and annoying, a voice that I used to hear on a daily basis. My little sister, Cotton. The gamemakers wouldn't put a little ten year old girl in here, would they?

A dark hand sticks out from the fields. It pushes the last stalk out of the way and the rest of the body emerges. It IS Cotton.

I hear Jeff catch his breath, "Nala," he whispers, "she looks kind of like you..."

I don't hesitate. I send the sword crashing through her thin body, completely dismembering her. Her upper body crashes to the ground, before exploding into dust. What the heck! At least that proves that she wasn't, well, really Cotton.

"What was that!" Jeff practically yells.

"My sister," I say simply. What else is there to say?

"And you just killed her!" He looks shocked, as if I committed the worst possible crime. Maybe I did.

"Um, yeah. It was a mutt."

"You didn't know that!" It's true, I didn't. The sad thing is, I didn't care.

"Yeah so?"

"She was, is, your sister!" Oh great, I forgot for a second. His sister is in the arena too. He might be in my position sometime. I don't think that Jeff would do the same thing I did. He's too soft and loving. It's pretty sickening.

"What does it matter?"

He stares at me for a minute before shaking his head in disbelief.

* * *

><p><strong>D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 <strong>~(Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, D.C.)

D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18~ (betrayed by Alex)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex)

D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 ~ (stabbed by Abby)

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~(Darcy)

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, 18 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~ (Jeremy)

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

**D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 **~ (Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** **17** ~ (Jeff)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

**D12 Trip Moors, 15** ~

* * *

><p>Another huge thanks to assistant gamemaker packman23!<p>

Hey, does anyone have any music suggestions? I usually listen to stuff while I write, and I need something new. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


	32. Freaking Games

**I had to get this up before I leave out of town, for who knows how long! Jeez, I feel like I'm never at home anymore. Which means I can't write/update as much as I'd like to.**

* * *

><p><strong>oO0~Day 2~0Oo<strong>

**Trip Moors (D12)**

I've decided I have to win this. I'm sure that almost everyone who has ever entered the arena has had that very same thought. I have a good reason. I'm sure that previous tributes have said that too. But mine isn't for riches, or glory, or even my life. Not sure how many others have thought that one, probably several but not the majority.

This isn't for me. It is for the ones who never have enough. It is for the ones who are oppressed. It is for all those who have worked against the Capitol, and failed. But most of all (this is rather selfish of me) it is for my father.

Sure, I actually saw the man for the first time while here in the Capitol. But I did hear his voice growing up. He was always encouraging me to be strong. He promoted freedom and believing in what you want to: some of the bravest words a district man could speak out loud. My father had one of those voices that you couldn't help but listen too, and I will never hear it again.

I makes me despise the Capitol. What would ever possess someone to think that it is ok to mercilessly rip out a person's tongue and make them into a slave for life? Even if the victim is a criminal, that fate is much too cruel, especially for someone who did nothing more but spread hope like my dad did.

I wonder if they will allow me to buy his freedom. They would have to let me, wouldn't they? I mean I would be a victor. Don't they get to do whatever they want? I have to win this. I just have too.

**Cane Jacobi (D11)**

This "city" is really, really irritating me. It suffocates the life out of absolutely everything. Well, there is no life. It's all buildings and crap. Everything is concrete, or brick, or iron, or, you get the idea. It feels like the world is closing in on you. You look up to see the bright blue sky and all that is there is tall skyscrapers blocking your view. You can't scope out the horizon because the city blocks limit your line of sight. It reminds me of a maze. The air is so still; the only sound is of our footsteps pounding on the pavement.

There is really nothing to do. We've been wandering around for awhile. Nothing has happened. That is either a blessing or a curse. If nothing exciting happens, you know that gamemakers are running around like chickens with their head cut off scheming at something. The longer they have to plot, the worse off we will be. Which, stating the obvious, isn't a good thing.

I jump at a sudden outburst of giggles. It was so silent before, everyone is on edge I think. I spin around. Who else but Echo?

"What!" she smiles.

"What was that?" Rayd asks, before I can get the words out.

"It's so quiet!"

"Isn't that a good thing?" I state. Seriously, if it is quiet, it means that there is no one nearby to...I don't know...KILL us!

"It's kinda haunting, don'tcha think?"

"She's got a point," Reeve says. This is one of the few times I've heard him speak since, well, the girl.

"Thank you!" Echo laughs again. Reeve smiles a half grin and takes a mock bow.

"What was that?" Rayd says suddenly.

"What was what?" I whisper, straining my ears. I really don't want to be caught off guard.

"It's nothing!" Reeve rolls his eyes.

"Yeah it was," Rayd hisses back

"Shut up! Will you!" Echo snaps at the two of them. We all stand quietly for a minute. It's...something? Maybe?

There is a faint scratching noise, followed by a loud clang. Echo jumps at the sound. It's coming from below us. Below us? Why are we just standing here like a bunch of freaking sitting ducks!

"Move!" I snap, "Do you really wanna find out what it is?"

"Hell no!" Reeve yells. Gosh, the idiot.

We take off down the street. Just in time too. I take a quick glance behind me just in time to see a giant rat thing, come struggling out of a sewage drain. When I say giant rat, I mean a huge freaking rat! The thing is at least five feet long! And that's not counting the whip-like tail. It's head turns towards us, and it's beady red eyes lock with mine. Shit this isn't good.

The rat mutt charges. Luckily, it has short-ish legs so it isn't too overpowering. But there is no way we can outrun this monster. It heads right for the center of us. Reeve's scythe glints in the sun for the briefest second before crashing down on the beast's back. The rat does an ear piercing shriek, and jumps back. It's tail whips around and smashes into my chest. It knocks the breath out of me and sends me soaring. I land hard on the concrete and struggle to find my breath again.

A scream fills the air, along with quite the chorus of cusses. I sit up and grip my machete, readying myself to pounce. How I was going to accomplish that, I have no idea. But before I can move, Rayd sends a sword through the mutt's throat. The rat shudders and falls over in a heap, its blood red eyes darkening. I stare at the monster, my eyes trailing down its long, sharp whiskers to its pointy, bloodstained incisors. Bloodstained teeth!

"These damn Games freaking pisses me off!" Echo snaps, her voice is higher pitched than normal. Tears are streaming down her face. I quickly stand up. Blood is seeping through her jeans, right below her knee. Rayd's face goes really pale and then takes on a tinge of green. God, I hope he doesn't puke. Blood I can handle, but puke is just plain nasty.

Reeve is the only one who does something though, surprisingly enough. "Take off your pants," he orders.

"What the heck! No!" Echo looks surprised. I can't blame her, Reeve's statement kinda sounds, well, wrong. Especially coming from him.

"Would you rather die of blood loss?"

Echo seems to think about it. She doesn't really have an option. Strip or die. Rayd starts digging in one of the red backpacks. Right, there's some bandages in there. I run over to help him; it's that or argue with Echo. I grab one of our few water bottles and start pouring it on her wound. I'd rather not waste valuable drinking water, but there really is no other choice. As soon as most of the blood is washed away (Rayd only gagged twice), it doesn't appear as bad as it did at first glance. I mean, sure she's probably gonna have a limp and slow us down. But it's not like she's dead, or has a broken bone or something. All there is four cuts. They are a little bit deep, but they aren't that huge, which is good I suppose. It could've been worse, but it could've been a whole heck of a lot better too.

The damn gamemakers aren't gonna give us a break, are they? Not for their precious little entertainment.

* * *

><p><strong>D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 <strong>~(Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, D.C.)

D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18~ (betrayed by Alex)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex)

D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 ~ (stabbed by Abby)

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~(Darcy)

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, 18 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~ (Jeremy)

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

**D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 **~ (Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** **17** ~ (Jeff)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

**D12 Trip Moors, 15** ~

* * *

><p><strong>Input time! This COULD influence the story...<strong>

1. Who is your fave tribute(s) at this point?

2. Hmm...Who do you think would be the perfect couple?

3. Is there anyone who you think should die next?

**Granted, I do have this pretty much planned out. But I'd love to hear your thoughts! :)**


	33. Tracking

**oO0~Second Night~0Oo**

**Katsu Mirehi (D3)**

What to do, what to do? I've been following this trail for the past few hours and it hasn't led me to much of anywhere. It's a living tribute, unless ghosts leave footprints in the soft dirt. Who it is, I have no idea. I should've paid more attention during training when I was "learning" about tracking. Supposedly, you can tell the size and weight of the person by the indentions in the track. Yeah, I have no stinkin' idea. All I know is that it is a person.

A person that moves, breathes, and lives (well, not for long anyway)! Maybe he/she/it will put up a good fight. All my other kills have been straight forward and basic, not that I'm complaining. But I want something exciting, a challenge. I need something to test my skills. I need someone to put up a fight back. Someone that will die slowly, trying to defend themselves until the end. Someone who I can taunt as I watch the blood pour from their wounds. Someone who will end up brining me great joy as I dismember them. Ah, now only for me to catch up with them.

I follow the tracks for what seems like forever. In reality, it's probably been only a couple hours (the dimming light of night isn't exactly helping me here!). The death at the end better be worth the agony of the hunt.

There! curled up by the base of a large rock is...the District 12 girl, Trip. She is sound asleep, awww. I could be merciful, just slit her throat. She wouldn't feel a thing. Unfortunately for her, I'm not feeling merciful. Heck, I don't think I'd recognize 'merciful' if it smacked me upside the head!

"Psst!" I hiss at her, kicking her gently. She groans lightly and rolls over. Really! "Wake up!" I snap at her. She sits up really quick and rubs her eyes absently.

"Good night!" I say cheerfully. The girl just looks at me for a second. Dang, she is out of it! Trip shakes her head and her eyes widen. Oh yeah, there we go! She reaches out to grab her, weapon? No, wait, just her glasses. How threatening! If I was in her position, well, my would-be murderer would have already had a sword skewering them! But no, she grabs her glasses!

"Get up!" I say; I'm getting impatient here!

She slowly rises, never taking her dark hazel eyes off of me. Her knuckles are turning white, she is gripping a small knife so hard. I smile at her.

"What do you want?" she almost whispers.

Of course, I answer honestly, "Your death." I mean really there are only two options in this kind of situation, becoming allies (gag) or me killing her. I think it is obvious what I want.

She nods slowly and her eyebrows press together as if she was deep in thought. I don't know what is going on in her mind right now. Probably saying her last prayers or something stupid like that.

With no warning whatsoever, she charges like a madwoman. Yes! A fighter!

The resounding clash of metal on metal is like music to my ears as her knife misses my body and strikes my sword instead. Bad aim on her part. I smile and flick the sword out at her, not trying to hurt her, yet. If I had wanted her dead, she would already be dead! Trip flinches back, narrowly missing the blade. She's fast, but her reflexes aren't quite there.

Trip charges yet again, but really there is nothing she can do. She has one short knife (that I know of) against my longer sword. I'm really gonna like keeping that knife when she is dead. The she does something unexpected. The knife makes a light cut on the back of my hand. My sword hand. It's not deep, but it stings. I drop the sword in surprise.

Trip takes her chance and quickly kicks the weapon out of reach. What was I just saying about her being at a disadvantage? My how the tables have turned.

I dive for the sword, but Trip steps in my path and I end up sending us both crashing to the ground. She stabs the knife upwards and it barely scrapes against my arm. I've had worse cuts from little kids! Weaponless, I do what anyone in my position would do: I go for the throat.

Trip kicks and struggles, but I keep my grip. She drops the knife-about time-and I snatch it up. Trip lands a sound punch to my eye, but it's all over.

I take the knife and drive it into the base of her neck. Blood oozes out around the metal blade. I drag the knife down, slicing her completely open. There is no chance of her being alive. It is rather fascinating, seeing an actual person like that. It totally blows those frog dissections out of the science room!

The cannon fires into the night. One more kill on my list. I leap off of Trip's bloodied body and wipe the knife clean on the dewy ground.

* * *

><p><strong>It's short...but someone died. That's really all that matters, isn't it? <strong>

**Haha, after this they get longer.**

* * *

><p><strong>D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 <strong>~(Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, D.C.)

D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18~ (betrayed by Alex)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex)

D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 ~ (stabbed by Abby)

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~(Darcy)

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, 18 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~ (Jeremy)

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

**D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 **~ (Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** **17** ~ (Jeff)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

D12 Trip Moors, 15 ~ (sliced by Katsu)

D8 and D12 completely out!

* * *

><p><strong>You know when you write too much of the same thing and then your head starts hurting and the quality of the story deteriorates? Yeah...well, as a cure I'm gonna start another syot soon to break up the monotony of writing the same characters for the past three months. More info coming soon!<strong>

**Don't worry, this one will be finished! I have it all planned out. Ten-ish more chapters! **


	34. Apologies

**oO0~Second Night~0Oo**

**Silver Manhatten (D1)**

God, the Games are exhausting. Words can't describe it. Imagine running a marathon or an iron man, tough right? It takes a ton of endurance. Now pair that up with little nourishment, killing people, constantly being on guard, and extreme stress. Yeah, it goes without saying that we're all tired.

D.C. builds a small fire. I think we deserve it, and anyway who is stupid enough to attack us? As long as we keep a guard watch, we should be more than fine. That is, until I got assigned the first shift. Nice, real nice. Four hours, of just sitting here listening to Alex snore. So much for getting sleep any time soon.

I get up and pace around our campsite. Must stay awake. Must stay awake.

Rubye sits up and looks at me, "Gosh, you stomp around like a freaking elephant! Trying to sleep here!" I'm not that loud.

I roll my eyes at her, "If you don't like it, why don't you guard?"

She shoots me a death glare, "Whatever. Just keep it down, will you?" She lays back down. Lucky her.

I grab my hammer, just in case, and walk away from the circle of light. I'm not going to go too far, though I won't mind someone murdering Rubye in her sleep. I walk in the woods for about an hour. Nothing stirs, the air is completely sill. If you were superstitious, it would be rather eerie.

If that bird didn't chirp, I wouldn't have seen her. I would've walked right past her, completely oblivious.

There, perched in the tree sleeping, was the District 10 girl that Rubye wants dead. I still don't see what the huge freaking deal is. I should kill her now. Save her from the wrath of Rubye, which basically means a slow painful death.

It wouldn't be to hard, just chuck the hammer at her head. Should work. I've got a clear shot. But somehow, I can't bring myself to do it. I don't know why. It isn't really the thought of killing that is turning me off. It's...I don't know really. Huh. Maybe it's the drama involved. Maybe it's the fact that I know that Rubye will freaking carve me to bits if she finds out. That's not it, I know I can easily take her...

The girl doesn't move, good thing too or she'd fall off that branch. Must be a deep sleeper. She wouldn't know what hit her. I look down at the hammer in my hand, it would put me one step closer to proving myself. One step closer to victory. One step closer to a better life.

"Silver!" D.C. calls as he approaches. Shit.

"What?" I turn to face him. Alex walks up too.

"Whatcha doing? Deserting?" he, not exactly asks, it's more of a threatening tone.

One wrong word and it's gonna be two against one. I circle around so I'm facing the girl, and positioning the morons' backs towards her. "Nah," I mutter, "Just scouting out the area a bit."

Ten's eyes are wide open, but she doesn't move an inch. Must be traumatized right now. She's in quite the precarious position at the moment. I lock eyes with her for the briefest of seconds.

"Oh..." God, the idiots. I just had to have to volunteer the same year as them.

"Let's get back to the campsite," I say, walking off. They arrogantly voice their agreement and follow me back, not a single glance at the girl in the tree.

**Jeffery Jester (D10)**

"Run!" I yell at Nala. What is our deal with always being attacked by mutts!

"No duh, stupid!" she snaps back. I don't waste my breath on a comeback. Just gotta get out of their way!

Of all the creepy things that the Capitol could create. It had to be this, evil thing! And on top of that, it had to be attacking us of all people! It's...chickens. Not any kind of chickens: huge-giant-I'm-gonna-peck-your-brains-out chickens

I've always hated chickens. I know that probably sounds really dumb coming from a District 10 native, but it's true. The things are evil I tell you. Evil! Their scaly claws that scratch in the dirt. Those smelly ruffled feathers. Those small black beady eyes that always seem to stare you down. But worse of all, it's the sharp pointy beaks that come pecking down on you. I shudder inwardly at the thought. And that's just normal chickens. We have freaking godzilla birds from hell chasing after us!

I leap out of the way, as a car sized beak comes hurdling to the ground. It barely misses, driving a crater into the ground where I had been just a second before. This is not good. Understatement of the century there.

Nala screams (seems to be a common occurrence with her) right as a mutt comes charging at her. I can't watch her get hurt. Without thinking, I go running at her and knock her to the ground right out of the devil bird's path. She's safe, but I have no time to react.

**Nala Wheat (D11)**

I land to the ground hard. I turn to yell at Jeff for his clumsiness. I looked too soon.

The mutt tramples over him. His screams of pain and fear will never leave my brain. The chicken thing just keeps on running, it's damage done.

There's no cannon, so it's safe to say that he's alive. Hesitantly, I walk over to him. It's not a good picture. I'm pretty sure that your legs aren't supposed to bend at that angle. He is splattered with blood and dirt. Jeff is so filthy right now, I can't tell where he's injured. His chest rises and falls unevenly with every rattled breath.

Poor guy. That could've been me. It would've been me, if Jeff hadn't been all heroic.

"Sorry Jeff," I whisper, and his eyes flutter open to look me. I send the sword into his chest. He sighs his last breath.

On tv, it might look like a mercy blow, me putting him out of his misery. But in all honesty, it wasn't. I had to do it though. Don't get me wrong, I liked Jeff, really liked him. He is, was, a good guy. If we met under different circumstances, things might have been different. But when we are thrown in the arena, and only one person can make it out alive, well, the obvious has to happen. I had no other option.

* * *

><p><strong>D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 <strong>~(Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, D.C.)

D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18~ (betrayed by Alex)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex)

D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 ~ (stabbed by Abby)

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~(Darcy)

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, 18 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~ (Jeremy)

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 ~ (death by wounds inflicted by giant chicken mutts and Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** **17** ~

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

D12 Trip Moors, 15 ~ (sliced by Katsu)


	35. Wishes

**If anyone is interested in entering a tribute in my next games because your character died, or you stumbled upon this story and want a tribute, or you just want to play god and create somebody(!), let me know. I'll save you a spot; it causes me less trouble later. As I will be gone the rest of the weekend, it's **_**probably**_** going to officially start this Sunday (Aug 28), IF all goes as planned (me being all pessimistic, watch as my computer dies a painful, violent death that day).**

**Gosh this chapter is a freaking load of cotton candy. You've been warned. I apologize.**

* * *

><p><strong>oO0~Day 3~0Oo<strong>

**Rayd Wister (D6)**

So close and yet so far. Why does important stuff always feel like that?

Good night of sleep? Yeah right. You know you are near your possible death when you spend all night contemplating your life. What should I have done differently? What do I regret? Well, right now, I regret the day I was born, though that wasn't my fault. It sucks 'cause today was the day I was born. Way to be all depressing.

A couple weeks sooner and I wouldn't be in this mess. I would've been safe. But no, fate had other games to play.

"Rayd?" Echo asks softly as she sits up, "You ok?"

I smile at her, "Yeah, just waking up." As if I got sleep last night!

"Ok!" She laughs, "For a minute there, you looked like, like, depressed or something" One thing about Echo: she talks with her hands, not like sign language but like random motions at key points. Pair that up with her bubbliness, and you got a girl who never seems anything but happy and excited. Her leg injury got her down for a little bit, but now she is perky again (though with a limp). How she can do that, I have no idea.

"No," I laugh, but all I'm thinking about is how true it is.

"Sooooooooo..." She starts.

"Sooooo..." I mimic her.

"Get the the point! Enough 'so'-ing!" Reeve mutters grouchily.

"I thought you were asleep!" Echo says.

"I WAS! Until you two started yappin'"

"Gosh, Mr. Grouchy-pants. Sorry!"

"No you aren't."

Echo laughs, "True. Where was I?"

"'Sooo..." I remind her. Reeve rolls his eyes.

"Right!" and she just smiles really huge.

"What?"

"You know what day it is...right?" she says. I hate it when people just go in circles without actually making their point. Though Echo's point is pretty straightforward.

Reeve cuts in, "Everybody loves me day?" Echo smacks his arm and he laughs, very obnoxiously.

"No, Rayd's birthday!" she says.

"Really? Happy," Cane hesitates for a second, probably regretting the 'happy' part. You can't easily be happy when you're in death row. "Birthday!"

Echo pouts, "Dang it Cane! I was gonna say it first!"

"Hey, you were too slow." Childishly, Echo sticks his tongue out at him.

"Fine, I'll say it nex..."

Never taking his eyes off Echo, Reeve butts in, "Happy Birthday!" at least that's what I think he said. It was so fast that it all came out as a blur.

Echo glares at him, "You're so mean!"

"Yup!" he smiles.

"...and cruel..." Reeve shamelessly nods his agreement, "and heartless..."

"I wouldn't say that," I say, somewhat sticking up for him, even though he is annoying and I'm pretty sure Echo is only teasing.

"Sexy. You forgot to say sexy," Reeve puts in. See what I mean about annoying?

"Definitely not!" I have to laugh at Echo's reaction. Her face = priceless. It is a complete mix of shock and repulsion.

"Denial!" he says carelessly, before getting up and stalking off.

Echo rolls her eyes and looks at me. "Well, happy birthday Rayd." and then she kisses me right on the lips! Was not expecting that. At all.

"My eyes!" Cane yells, "you could've warned me!"

"Ok Cane, I'm gonna kiss Rayd. That's your warning!" Echo says.

"Too late now!"

"No it's not," she murmurs lightly before pressing her lips to mine again. I can't say that I mind. Fake gagging sounds fill the air as Cane not so quietly exits. Way to ruin the moment, kid. But Echo doesn't seem to mind, so neither will I...

* * *

><p><strong>Meh...no deaths. That was really dialouge heavy, wow. Sorry.<strong>

**D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 **~(Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, D.C.)

D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18~ (betrayed by Alex)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex)

D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 ~ (stabbed by Abby)

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~(Darcy)

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, now 19 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Darcy Plear, 14 **~ (Jeremy)

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 ~ (death by wounds inflicted by giant chicken mutts and Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** **17** ~

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

D12 Trip Moors, 15 ~ (sliced by Katsu)


	36. Thief

**oO0~Day 3~0Oo**

**Darcy Plear (D6)**

I hold the dagger over his throat.

I can do this. He doesn't even stir in his sleep. I can do this.

But, this has to be the time when I start thinking too hard about things. Really Darcy! I just want to smack myself, quite good, sometimes. Jeremy is a good guy. He doesn't deserve to win, that's my job, but he doesn't deserve to die either. But does anyone here really deserve the death sentence?

He looks so peaceful sleeping. All the harsh, stressed edges in his face just kind of soften and relax. I wonder what he is dreaming about...or if he is even dreaming at all.

Only a coward will kill an enemy in their sleep, right? Stop thinking about it. I'm just looking for an excuse not to do it. He has been nice...meaning that he didn't murder me when he first had the chance. But that wasn't all, he shared supplies and food, definitely the most important part there: food, with me. Still just excuses. Just kill him.

I'm already too close to him if I'm hesitating so much. What was that I told Melanie during the goodbyes? Oh yeah, something along the lines of "I'm coming home, Mel, no matter what it takes."

She replied, gentle person that she is, "What if you have to, you know, murder someone?" She barely whispered those last words, as if saying them aloud would bring horrible karma crashing down on her.

At the time I laughed but I was only trying to lighten the mood. Now I almost regret my promise. Not the promise to come home, 'cause that's what I'm trying to do, but the promise that I would heartlessly drive a dagger into anyone who got in my way. If it was anyone but Jeremy, I'd have no problems whatsoever.

I knew that an alliance was a bad idea. Someone always has to betray the other, there's no way around it. I've never witnessed a peaceful division of allies in the Games before. And now, here I am, in a horrible position.

I lower the dagger to slit his throat.

I can't. I just freaking can't.

I stuff the weapon in my pocket and grab everything I can carry. It's not much, just a backpack with some jerky (eww, but its protein), dried fruit (seriously, is everything we have left dried?), a canteen of water, and a thin blanket.

I run off, leaving nothing left. Sorry Jeremy.

**Jeremy Soraks (D5)**

God, I can't believe it. Darcy didn't wake me up. She said we'd switch off sleeping, so no one can sneak up on us. I know for a fact that I've slept more than my fair share of the night.

"Sorry Darcy," I mutter opening my eyes.

No one answers.

"Darcy?" I ask a little bit louder, sitting up and looking around.

No one is there. Nice.

"Darcy, not funny!" I say as loudly as I dare.

Still nothing. Wait a sec, where is everything...DARCY! That bitch! Everything! Gone! No way can I survive with, well, nothing!

She can't have too much of a head start. I stand up, unfortunately there is no supplies to slow me down. I'm not the best at tracking and I have no idea which direction she would've went. I stare at the ground in frustration. She can be anywhere! Wait a sec, what's that? The early morning has one advantage: grass wet with dew. It shows her path clear as, well, not day...or mud (not clear at all!)...as clear a path as I can hope for!

I snap a branch off a nearby tree, better that than nothing I suppose. And I stalk off after her trail which slowly fades.

A dark figure, about Darcy size nonetheless, is right ahead of me. Is it just me, or does this seem waaaaay to easy?

I don't think too much about it. I'm here for one reason and one reason only.

I charge. Who cares how much noise I make! She turns around for the briefest of seconds, just long enough for me to see the shock in her bright blue eyes. I don't stop. I send the thick branch crashing into the side of her head. A cannon fires.

She didn't even have time to scream, which I suppose is a good thing. It's bad enough that I now have a death on my conscience. At least it wasn't too graphic, that would've made the pain so much worse.

Even now, I can't bear to look at her dead body. I avert my eyes while I grab the stuff. Damn, I hope it was worth it in the end.

* * *

><p><strong>D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 <strong>~(Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, D.C.)

D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18~ (betrayed by Alex)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex)

D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 ~ (stabbed by Abby)

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, now 19 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

D6 Darcy Plear, 14 ~ (killed by Jeremy)

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 ~ (death by wounds inflicted by giant chicken mutts and Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

**D11 Nala Wheat,** **17** ~

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

D12 Trip Moors, 15 ~ (sliced by Katsu)

* * *

><p><strong>Haha, I lied when I said Sunday (sorry, I'm impatient). I just put up my new syot, <strong>_**Murdered Minutes**_**, if you want a tribute in it. Even though you can't see it, I'm puppy pouting right now just begging you for new people to kill...I mean write for.**


	37. I Hate Thinking of Titles!

**It's weird; I thought updates would slow down due to a heavy school load. But it's the opposite! Writing is a good escape for a procrastinator like me :)**

* * *

><p><strong>oO0~Day 4~0Oo<strong>

**Sammy Jester (D10)**

I can't even connect the two words together in my mind. It seems so distant, as if it didn't happen. But it did. It seems so wrong. No, not seems, it is so wrong.

Last night my worst nightmare came true. Jeff is...gosh, I can't bring myself to even think that word aloud. He's...I swallow really hard. A huge lump is stuck in my throat. I take a long, deep breath. Jeff is...another deep breath. Jeff is...gone. For good. For forever.

I don't even know how it happened. I'm not sure if I want to know either. Did the careers catch him? Someone else? Mutts? Part of my terror is not knowing HOW it happened. If I knew the cause of...well, maybe I could rest easier. Not knowing allows my imagination to take over, making the you-know-what so much more morbid and graphic than it might've actually was.

I can't stand it. Mindlessly, I sink to the ground. I lean back against a tree, for all I know, it might be the only thing holding me up at the moment. I swallow hard again. Tears can't come. Oddly enough, I want to cry. Who cares how weak it will make me look on tv! I need to let the sorrow leave me. Tears are its only escape.

I try to tune out the world. The wind just continues to whistle through the trees. There's a faint rustle behind me.

Wait...that can't be good. But what can be good anymore?

I need to arm myself, run, hide, or something! It was a close call with the careers almost seeing me last night, I don't want to be caught now. Jeff would want me to win.

I drag myself to my feet. My knife...crap! It's in my pack, which is in the tree still. How could I be so stupid!

"I thought you would've moved by now," a voice practically whispers.

I turn around and face him. It's that 1 guy, what's his face, um, Silver. A career, of course. Just my luck.

"Yeah..." I start, and then stop. He had seen me last night. Why am I still alive? "About that..."

He raises his eyebrows. I hesitate, waiting for him to say something. But he doesn't.

I continue, accusingly. Really, I have nothing to lose, he's gonna kill me anyway, "You were looking right at me!"

He looks surprised, "Uh, yeah. I'm standing right here, not blind..."

"Not now!" I snap, wow that sounded sharper then I meant it too. "Last night!"

"Yeah..."

Am I gonna get more than that from him? "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why didn't you tell them, or kill me, or"

"Shut up will you!" he snaps, louder than normal. I think it surprised him just as much as it did me. "Would you rather me have told them? You wouldn't be standing here now if I did!"

I feel like a little kid, though he is younger than me by a year. "But why?"

He stares at me with intense eyes for a second. "Honestly, I don't know. But I suggest moving. Like now. I'm only scouting ahead. They shouldn't be that far behind, if the idiots didn't get lost."

'They' means careers I'm sure. This could be a trap, or it couldn't. Well, I don't have much of a choice: either I trust him, or I don't.

I do a little bit of both. I don't take my eyes off him as I back off to grab my stuff from the tree. But I do get the heck out of dodge!

As I leave he says something. It was so quiet that I barely caught it. I'm not sure, but it sounded like 'good luck'.

**Nala Wheat (D11)**

I take a quick look over my shoulder. Where did he go? He was just pursuing less than a second ago. I didn't think he'd give up that easily.

Killing Jeff was one thing. For starters, he was a pretty gentle guy. But secondly, he was completely injured and helpless. This guy, yeah, it's not gonna happen like that.

The brute from District 9 is huge! The couple times I watched him during training, yeah, I'd rather not think about that. It was terrifying! I have no chance against him. He could probably kill me with one finger.

So, I do the only thing a sensible person could do. Run as if all of Hell is crashing down on me. He was following, but I don't see him anymore.

I look ahead of me again. Oh shit! How the heck did he do that!

His bright blue eyes flash and a sword comes swinging at me, I don't even have time to flinch. Last thought was weird though: my dad and sister back home. I wish I could've seen them, one last time.

* * *

><p><strong>D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 <strong>~(Rubye, Alex, D.C.)

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 **~ (Silver, Alex, D.C)

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, D.C.)

D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18~ (betrayed by Alex)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 **~

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 **~(Silver, Rubye, Alex)

D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 ~ (stabbed by Abby)

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 **~

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 **~(Rayd, Reeve, Cane)

**D6 Rayd Wister, now 19 **~(Echo, Reeve, Cane)

D6 Darcy Plear, 14 ~ (killed by Jeremy)

**D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 **~(Echo, Rayd, Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 **~

D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 ~ (death by wounds inflicted by giant chicken mutts and Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14** ~(Echo, Rayd, Reeve)

D11 Nala Wheat, 17 ~ (sliced by Slice, ignore the bad pun)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

D12 Trip Moors, 15 ~ (cut down by Katsu)

**TOP TWELVE! **

**We're halfway there...oh oh livin' on a prayer! (oops sorry!)**


	38. Break

**It's been awhile...I've been busy.**

* * *

><p><strong>oO0~Day Four~0Oo<strong>

**Reeve Solomon (D7)**

Best way to say it...hmm...

Putting it simply: Echo is well, fill in the blank. Good "fill in the blank", not bad "fill in the blank". As in words, well, can't describe her properly. As I said, in a good way, not a bad one. Very good way. As in if I say it out loud, I might be called something not so nice. Not that it would be a first or anything...

Mildly said, she's hot. Mind you, that's mildly said.

I'm not suggesting anything. Because, well, I'm not sure yet. Best to hold off, for now.

Cane and I walk around, looking for something edible. As soon as we leave the city area, it's not too hard. There's nothing green there, I mean plant wise. There was a weird looking green car. But that's something else. Here, it's not that bad. Berries, herbs (mostly bitter, but hey, it's food), and a few roots are added to our supplies. We aren't starving, that's probably more than some others might be able to say. It's the advantage of an alliance with a 7 and 11 guy, I suppose. We know our stuff.

Silently, we head back to camp. Once we are within sight I call out softly, "Guess what's for lunch?"

No answer. "Too quiet?" I ask Cane.

"Nah don't think so. You got a loud mouth," he grins. The kid is honest, I have to give him that.

We walk into camp and I stop dead in my tracks.

God.

Echo. With. Rayd. What the fuck happened there?

I can't believe it. Wait, maybe I can. They're right there making out. Concrete evidence. Shit.

"Not again!" Cane groans.

"Again?" I mutter. Kid gives one of those "where the heck have you been" looks.

"Well then," I say loudly, marching my way right into camp, "Guess what we found?"

They take the hint, sort of. Their lips aren't touching anymore, that's a start. Oh crap, it's worse. Now they're staring into each other's eyes, dazed to the world around them. Makes me sick. But if I was in Rayd's place...yow.

"Anyone home? Wake up from la la land!" I snap, stepping right between them.

"What Reeve?" Echo says sweetly. I can't help but stare for a second...or two.

"Um, well, uh, you hungry?" I so eloquently spit out. She smiles slightly.

Let's just say it was a little bit awkward. After awhile of just sitting around, Cane jumps up and starts pacing around. "Can we move or something? Just staying here is just..." he trails off.

"Asking for trouble?" Rayd suggests.

"We can go with that. But I was going to say boring."

I can't stand seeing Echo sitting that close to Rayd any longer, "Sure, let's go!" Quickly, I get up and grab the ax.

Cane grins and Rayd slowly (really slowly. Gosh he acts like an old man sometimes) gets up. Without thinking, okay maybe some plotting, I reach down and offer Echo a hand up. She grabs it and I haul her to her feet. Granted, I did pull her up faster than she expected so she fell closer to me, but hey I deny nothing. A guy gotta do what a guy gotta do.

We start walking aimlessly. "Don't you think we should be trying to do something?" Cane asks randomly.

"Like what?" Rayd answers.

"I dunno. It feels weird just doing well, nothing."

"You're saying what?" Echo says, her forehead gently wrinkling in thought.

"I said I don't know! Something! Anything!"

I don't know why I opened my mouth, "Kid wants to track down something."

"Cane!" Echo snaps. She sounds like a mom right now.

"I didn't mean that! Reeve said it!" Way to go, shift the blame on me. Make me look bad in front of Echo.

"Reeve!" She says, turning on me.

Changing subject! "So...did you know that it's possible to kill a grizzly bear with only one hand?" Hell, I don't know if it's true, it sounds good though. A little bit out of the blue, but who cares?

Cane's eyes widen, "Really? How?"

I was really hoping that he wouldn't ask that. I start rambling on; I'm not quite sure what I'm saying. Rayd and Echo walk ahead of us, hand in hand. Whenever the ground gets a little bit uneven, Echo leans gently on him, favoring her uninjured leg.

Ugh, I can't take it anymore!

Oh wait, I spoke too soon. Here's the kicker. She trips gently. When she gets back up, she tip-toes up and kisses him. Her hands wrap around his neck and he pulls her in closer.

I hear an angry yell, wait, that's coming from me. I heave the ax and send it crashing into Rayd's back. I'm not sure what possesses me, but there's no turning back now.

A cannon fires. Echo drops Rayd and he limply falls to the ground face first. His whole back is stained red.

"Reeve!" She screams. Her eyes are wide with shock. It hasn't really sank in yet.

"What!" I snap back at her.

"What the Hell?"

"What do you think!" We're both screaming at each other now. Cane just stares blankly.

"What happened to our alliance!"

"It had to happen sooner or later!"

"No it didn't!"

"Sure looks like it did, honey!"

She stares at Rayd's body and screams wordlessly. She slowly sinks to her knees, sobbing. What did I just do?

"Echo?" I ask softer.

"How could you?" she whispers.

Anger takes over again, "How could I? This is the fucking Hunger Games!" Thoughtlessly, I raise the bloodstained ax again. So much for me liking her.

A pain rips through my back. I turn around quickly to see Cane rip his machete from my lower back. It drips red blood, my blood. He stares at it, brown eyes wide.

"Oh God, what did I do?" he mutters.

The pain takes over and the world goes dark.

* * *

><p><strong>D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 ~ (Rubye, Alex, D.C.)<strong>

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 ~ (Silver, Alex, D.C)**

**D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 ~ (Silver, Rubye, D.C.) **

D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18 ~ (betrayed by Alex)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 ~**

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 ~ (Silver, Rubye, Alex)**

D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 ~ (stabbed by Abby)

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 ~ **

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 ~ (Cane)**

D6 Rayd Wister, turned 19 ~ (axed by Reeve)

D6 Darcy Plear, 14 ~ (killed by Jeremy)

D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 ~ (machete to back thanks to Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~**

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 ~**

D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 ~ (death by wounds inflicted by giant chicken mutts and Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14 ~ (Echo)**

D11 Nala Wheat, 17 ~ (sliced by Slice, ignore the bad pun)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

D12 Trip Moors, 15 ~ (cut down by Katsu)

**D6, D7, D8, and D12 completely out!**


	39. Attack

**Well, happy Labor Day. My hands are literally killing me to type right now, due to a little accident. Let's just say, I didn't realize that a grill could shoot flames up that high (it was pretty amazing! Unfortunately, I don't think I can repeat it). The guy five houses away from me is a firefighter...he saw it from his yard and came in a golf cart wearing the mask and oxygen thingy and hauling three fire extinguishers. One of them exploded coating everything white. My life is a bad sitcom; the only difference is that I didn't learn a sappy moral at the end. Enough random ranting...onto the Games**

* * *

><p><strong>Cane Jacobi (D11)<strong>

"Oh God, what did I just do?" The words just slip out of my mouth.

I almost can't believe it, except for the fact that his body is lying at the ground at my feet. I killed someone. I ended a life. Reeve's never going to breath, move, speak, or anything else ever again. It's over.

I take a deep breath through my mouth and let it out slowly. Echo looks up at me, a single tear running down her face.

I look down at my blood stained hands. I actually killed someone. The weapon of destruction is still in my hand, just dripping. I quickly drop it. I have to have it though. I stoop down and carefully wipe the machete blade on the grass. Most of the blood comes off, but there is a faint stain on the metal that I can't remove. A reminder of my crime.

"We need to split up," I say. I really don't want to hurt Echo, she's too nice. And if it comes down to it...I don't want to think about it.

She bites her lip and silently nods. "Better now, in peace..."

"Yeah instead of pieces" Crap, did I really just say that? Echo's eyes widen and she starts trembling slightly. "I was kidding!" I say quickly. But it's too late.

She forces her face into a smile. It's fake, but she tried, "Um, good luck, I guess."

"Same to you," wow, this is as awkward as it gets. I walk away from her, not looking back. This is a single player game now.

**oO0~Fourth Night~0Oo**

**D.C. Codes (D4)**

"Look at this!" I say, leading the others towards my find.

It's the remains of a simple fire. Not too hard to miss. Pity the camp has been deserted.

"How long ago was someone here?" Rubye asks, a half crazed glint in her eyes.

"Dunno, probably not more than a couple hours."

"And we are standing here, why?" Alex says as he strides off.

I look at the other two. Rubye traces the blade of her knife and then turns around a follows him. Guess the decision has been made. We follow. Hope Alex knows where he's going.

Nothing. Minutes turn into hours. Still nothing. Another hour and still more nothing.

Alex stops suddenly and Rubye goes crashing into him. "God, Alex make up your mind!" she snaps.

"I know where we're goin'!"

"Prove it!"

He opens his mouth to say something, but he stops. A yell, no a battle cry, pierces the night air.

The beast from 9 comes crashing in.

He's alone, but he charges in as if he was leading a whole army. No one was prepared for that.

I lift my spiked mace, and send it crashing towards Slice's (come to think of it, cool name) head. For a big guy, he moves fast. He dodges the blow in a matrix move. In the same movement, he slashes out with his sword and nicks my leg, right below the knee. Thud! A knife sinks into his stomach and sticks; I'm assuming props go to Rubye. But he doesn't even flinch.

Slice spins around and the sword swings through the air. Blood splatters me. It's not mine, I checked. It's Alex. Well, was Alex. His lifeless eyes stare up at me from a detached head. There goes another ally.

There is another thunk as another knife pierces through the one man army. Let's hit his heart next time Rubye! Silver leaps into action. There is a sickening, yet satisfying, crunch as his hammer connects with Slice's shoulder. His sword arm is now out of commission.

"What the Hell was that!" Silver snaps. A shallow slice (not the guy) on his arm oozes blood. Knife wound.

"Oops," Rubye smirks, "Must've gotten in the way."

"Bitch," he mutters as he dodges a punch. Slice isn't going down without a fight. Another knife goes flying and it sinks into his arm.

Still not giving up, but Slice is slowing down. I give the mace a mighty swing, crashing it into his legs. He crumbles to the ground as bones break. He lays completely still.

"He dead?" Rubye asks, before yanking her knife out of him.

"No cannon. But it won't be long," I say, grinning. Two words. Adrenaline. Rush.

Slice proves the whole I'm-not-dead thing by reaching out and grabbing Rubye by the throat as she leans in too close. She gags at the hold, but quickly regains herself and drives the knife through his wrist. His grip loosens and his arm falls back to the ground. His breath comes out rough and ragged.

"Another one down," she mutters.

"Yeah!" I hold up my hand for a five...but she totally leaves me hanging. Nice.

I look around, there's no one else in sight. Just Alex's dead body, Slice's almost dead body, me, Rubye...where's Silver?

"Uh, Rubye?"

"What now!" she turns to glare.

"Did Silver die?"

"You idiot. Of course not. He's right..." she looks around, "Deserter! I'm gonna kill him!"

* * *

><p><strong>D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 ~ <strong>

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 ~ (D.C.)**

D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 ~ (beheaded by Slice)

D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18 ~ (betrayed by Alex)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

**D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 ~**

**D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 ~ (Rubye)**

D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 ~ (stabbed by Abby)

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 ~ **

**D5 Echo Drifting, 18 ~ **

D6 Rayd Wister, turned 19 ~ (axed by Reeve)

D6 Darcy Plear, 14 ~ (killed by Jeremy)

D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 ~ (machete to back thanks to Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~ **

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 ~**

D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 ~ (death by wounds inflicted by giant chicken mutts and Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14 ~ **

D11 Nala Wheat, 17 ~ (sliced by Slice, ignore the bad pun)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

D12 Trip Moors, 15 ~ (cut down by Katsu)

* * *

><p><strong>After I wrote this, I realized I should've had a filler chapter between this one and the last one to break up the, um, break ups. Ah well. The end is near...<strong>


	40. Dreams

**oO0~Day Five~0Oo**

**Rubye Glitter (D1)**

Oddly enough, 10 is still alive. It's been five days...FIVE STINKIN' DAYS! Even if I haven't been able to get her, someone else should've. She is a weak, pathetic, idiotic...ugh!

Good news: since no one else has taken her out, it means I can...once we find her. Shouldn't be too hard, it won't be too long before the gamemakers start driving us all together for the end. Seriously. We're the top nine, one more death 'til eight, and then seven...until there is only one. One Victor.

It might just be me.

As more people die the closer I get. The only real threats left are Slice (who should be dead by now...where's that damn cannon anyway?) and D.C., and I have an eye on him. The psycho from 3 shouldn't be too hard to take down, and Silver, well, I'm not sure. Who else does that leave? Hmm...District 5 kids, meh and the 11 boy. Yeah, I think I have this down. Should be preparing my new mansion now.

I look over at D.C. and he shrugs. Wonder what goes on in his brain, not much probably. He needs to go...and soon. Sooner the better actually. I don't need him anymore. No use keeping a threat around.

I run my finger over the sharp blade of a knife. I slowly draw it out and prepare to shove it into the back of his neck.

He doesn't even look at me but he dashes into some bushes. Really! I shove my way through the foliage, catching up to my target. Something stops me in my tracks. A small whimper. I quickly scan the area, branches are snapped, leaves crushed: the sure sign of a struggle.

I catch up with D.C.. Did not expect to see that one! How he even heard that I had no idea.

He has that 5 chick dangling by her throat. He really likes killing hands on, doesn't he? She kicks out and nails him in the shins, but he doesn't even flinch. Why would he? It was a weak attempt. The weak attempt of a dying girl. She claws at his hands, leaving streaks of blood.

D.C. just laughs at her. Looks like he's got this one finished up. One step closer to the end.

He drops her and she falls to the ground gasping for breath. Purple bruises are forming quickly around her neck. D.C. smiles down at her.

"Monster," 5 coughs out.

"Well, I'm not saying sorry," he says, bending down to stare her in the eyes. He rests his hands on either side of her face, in a different light it might look like a lover's caress. D.C. leans in close to her face and then violently jerks her head to the side. The sickening snap fills the air to be followed immediately by the cannon's boom.

"Nice one," I mutter.

"Uh, thanks. Ya know, I always dreamed of coming here and now that I'm here it still feels like a dream. It's so, so..." he looks lost for words. No surprise there.

"Surreal?"

"Sure, I think." He sits back, seemingly not disturbed by the girl's dead body just a couple feet away.

Now's my chance. Get rid of the threat.

I spring, knocking him onto his back. I raise the knife and before he can react, I slit his throat. Simple as that. It doesn't take much to kill.

"Sweet dreams, D.C." I mutter. Six more deaths and it's all over.

**Silver Manhatten (D1)**

It was about time I split. I don't regret a thing, I used them as much as possible. Now it's over.

A cannon echoes in the distance. Probably Slice. He was definitely a goner. But about three minutes later, another shot rings. Huh, no idea who that could be.

I pick my way through the fields of grass. What exactly I'm doing now, I don't really know. Right now, it's looking like I'm surviving 'til the end and taking out any who gets in my path. Sounds good, actually.

"Are you ready for this?" a chick's voice screams. Rubye? Maybe? A dark silhouette at the horizon is all I can really see. Maybe I should've killed her so I wouldn't have to deal with her wrath. When that chick gets pissed, you're beyond dead.

I grip the hammer in my hands, right now I wish I had some sort of ranged weapon like a spear so I can take her out from a distance. Rubye has some mad aim.

The girl gets closer...it's not Rubye(?). I stare at her for a sec, trying to place who it is. Katsu. The mental girl from 3. Fun fun.

Once she's about fifteen feet away, she stops short and waves a sword, like some sort of brutish greeting. Her slap happy grin is rather disturbing. She starts to charge.

Bring it on.

She arcs the blade readying it to come crashing down. Basic move. I easily dodge it. I swing the hammer up, hoping to catch her jaw. In the nick of time, she brings the sword around and the weapons clash with a resounding clang. She laughs maniacally, as if this was the best thing that ever happened to her.

"You know what?" She asks quite monotonously as if she was just sitting around watching a boring movie.

I don't answer, but easily block another stab.

"You're kind of crazy..."

What the heck? I swear this girl is on something.

"You hear me?"

I swing the hammer around and nail her in the side of the head. Blood stains her dark hair and she falls to the ground in a heap. The cannon goes off before she even hits the ground.

I take a deep breath and step back. One more death. That's all it really is: another kill.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm just killing them all off rapid fire now! Mwahahaha! Top six baby!<strong>

**It's better than my sister's plan of just making the arena explode and destroy everyone in a single blast (she really wants me off the computer)**

**D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 ~ **

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 ~ **

D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 ~ (beheaded by Slice)

D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18 ~ (betrayed by Alex)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 ~ (Just noticed, Silver annihilated D3)

D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 ~ (Rubye slits throat)

D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 ~ (stabbed by Abby)

**D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 ~ **

D5 Echo Drifting, 18 ~ (neck snapped by D.C.)

D6 Rayd Wister, turned 19 ~ (axed by Reeve)

D6 Darcy Plear, 14 ~ (killed by Jeremy)

D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 ~ (machete to back thanks to Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~ **

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 ~**

D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 ~ (death by wounds inflicted by giant chicken mutts and Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14 ~ **

D11 Nala Wheat, 17 ~ (sliced by Slice, ignore the bad pun)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

D12 Trip Moors, 15 ~ (cut down by Katsu)


	41. Boom, baby!

**oO0~Day Five~0Oo**

BOOM! Huge explosion. Fire everywhere. The ground shook violently in the earthquake. Flames rose, their fiery lips kissing the sky. The end is near.

The cannon went off. _One_.

The end is closer.

The remaining tributes tried to run, but where could they go?

The cannon went off. _Two_.

The end is closer.

There is no escape. No escape.

The cannon went off. _Three_.

The end is closer.

Capitol citizens watched, mouths agape. Not even they were expecting this.

The cannon went off. _Four_.

The end is closer.

Panem's tears flowed like a river, but not even that could extinguish the flames.

The cannon went off. _Five_.

The end is closer

The gamemakers applauded. This would go down in history.

There was only one tribute left...

Chuck Norris.

The end is here.

* * *

><p>Just kidding.<p>

I had to do it. Maniacal laughter off. Psychotic killer mode off.

For the "real" chapter thing:

* * *

><p>Jeremy Soraks (D5)<p>

Why aren't the Gamemakers calling a feast or something? Unless I lost count, we're at the top six. Shouldn't we be herded together for a final fight?

I'm so close to the end...I might be able to make it out. It's so close, yet so far. It would suck to make it this far and not live at the end.

If they did bring us together, it'd be at the non-cornucopia, right? The mock Training Center place? A weird scuttling sound fills the air. I turn and look around. Nothing.

I only have five simple, living obstacles. Since I'm assuming that the remaining two Careers split, maybe they'll meet and fight tooth and nail and destroy each other. Or at least injure each other enough so I could finish them off easier. Screw that plan, they should take out Slice first-he is death incarcerated in a man-and then fight each other. Yeah, that'd be nice.

Then the survivors would be me, Sammy, and Cane. No offense to them, but I'm pretty sure that if it came down to that, I'd be the last one standing. Normally, I wouldn't be plotting the demise of five other people. But hey, this isn't a normal situation, this is life or death.

That weird sound is still there, I scan the empty city streets. All I can see is buildings, pavement, and concrete. A driverless car slowly moves on by, but that's it.

What is that mysterious ticking noise? (Snape...Snape...) The calm before the storm?

I just had to say it, didn't I?

Good God, it's attack of the bugs! I should probably start running. Now!

The little army pursues. They aren't flying, not saying that they can't, they just aren't. Kinda like an ant...only faster...only tons of them...only with large, sharp mandibles! Nothing is slowing them down. If anything, they are gaining speed. I'm not sure if this is my imagination, or do I hear a shrill bugle call? Charge!

The sound of pursuit gets closer and closer. I can picture my obituary now: Jeremy Soraks, age 16. He was a good kid, only child, loving parents...until he got freaking murdered by freaking murderous evil bugs!

They keep getting closer. I don't like this. I can't outrun them...

A tingling sensation crawls up my leg, literally! I swat the little scout off. Shit, shit shit! This isn't good. He was just the first of the onslaught. They attack faster than I can sweep them off. Their legs don't hurt, just randomly tickle.

OUCH! What the crap! One bit me! Why am I surprised? Ooooh they have big clawed jaws for no reason? Facepalm.

A large painful red swelling grows on my forearm. Then it goes icy numb. No pain...but no movement. Oh shit.

I, very unmanfully I admit, yelp as I'm bitten again and again. And again. And again. I thrash around, trying to get the freaking things off.

It becomes harder and harder to move my arms and legs. My motions are getting stiff, slow, and awkward. No! This can't be it! I'm top six. I can win this damn thing!

My legs collapse beneath me. Shit. No! I lie on my back trying to get the nasties off. They swarm with more and more force. I can't see anything but their black bodies blocking my eyesight.

I open my mouth to scream, shout, cuss out the world, something! The pent up words won't escape. The tingling enters my mouth. I cough, trying to keep them from blocking my throat. I choke as the ant things make their way into me as if they were following a road.

No! It can't end this way! Dammit!

* * *

><p><strong>D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 ~ <strong>

**D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 ~ **

D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 ~ (beheaded by Slice)

D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18 ~ (betrayed by Alex)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 ~ (Just noticed, Silver annihilated D3)

D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 ~ (Rubye slits throat)

D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 ~ (stabbed by Abby)

D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 ~ (devoured by ant mutts)

D5 Echo Drifting, 18 ~ (neck snapped by D.C.)

D6 Rayd Wister, turned 19 ~ (axed by Reeve)

D6 Darcy Plear, 14 ~ (killed by Jeremy)

D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 ~ (machete to back thanks to Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~ **

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

**D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 ~**

D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 ~ (death by wounds inflicted by giant chicken mutts and Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14 ~ **

D11 Nala Wheat, 17 ~ (sliced by Slice, ignore the bad pun)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

D12 Trip Moors, 15 ~ (cut down by Katsu)

* * *

><p><strong>I'm not sorry for this chapter. At all. I blame the coffee. At a friend's house, I drank like three cups...afterwards he told me that he drugged it with espresso, and LOTS of it. Doesn't help a person with an already extremely short attention span!<strong>


	42. Revenge?

**Now that I'm caffeine-sober, I just reread my last chapter. Wow. I really apologize for part of it. I originally had planned for a halfway heroic death for Jeremy against something big and ferocious...and what happened? Ants. My bad (though I did end up liking that better). I swear I was delirious or something.**

* * *

><p><strong>oO0~The Fifth Night~0Oo<strong>

**Rubye Glitter (D1)**

I've got to kill her. I've got to kill her. Show no mercy. The 10 girl last year didn't show mercy to Samantha _(a/n Rubye's sis Samantha!)._ I can't show mercy back. And why would I want to? This is the reason I came. This is the reason I will die for if I have to.

I remember it like it just happened, though it was a year ago. I stared at the tv, rooting my sister on. She was going to win. She was going to make it home to me.

But no, that pesky bitch of 10 had to get in the way. The coward didn't even get in sight for a fight. She perched high up in a tree and ambushed the remaining Career pack. Arrows flew, most of them hitting their target. Samantha was one of the last to fall. The arrow pierced through her forehead, the metal head completely embedding itself into her skull. She hit the ground hard, brown eyes staring lifelessly to the sky.

I couldn't stop screaming. It was my sister. She promised she'd make it back. She was going to win. But no, an freaking arrow put an end to her life.

Luckily, last year's 10 girl didn't win (I would've attempted murder during her victory tour, if she did). She ended up getting speared by the 4 guy in the final 5. No drama, little pain.

This year's 10 girl isn't going to win either. I'm going to murder her in cold blood. Lots of drama, lots of pain.

I grin at the thought. Revenge...will be nice. Very nice.

I stalk my prey. Is it possible to get high from the thrill of the hunt? 'Cause if it is, I'm definitely feeling it. My insides are just jittery in anticipation. This is what all those long days in the training center have come to. Killing 10.

Wait...that can't be her...it seems so...easy...

I glance around carefully, this can't be a trap...can it? Is the risk worth the potential gain? Hell yeah.

SNAP! Damn branch. 10 spins around really fast and stares at me, like a deer caught in the headlights. She spins around quick and runs as if Hell was chasing after her, and trust me, right now...it is. If you think I'm giving up that easy, think again. I charge after her. Who cares about how much noise I make now? She knows I'm pursuing. Heck, all of Panem knows I'm pursuing!

She's less than five yards ahead of me. I could nail her with a knife...but that would be too quick. I'm not looking for the easy kill here.

She doesn't slow down, but she can't keep this up forever. She's going to have to face the truth sometime, turn around and fight!

YES! She goes sprawling headfirst onto the ground. Klutzyness must be her fatal flaw. I close the gap between us with a few long strides and take a flying leap. Her eyes widen and a small squeak of surprise escapes from her. How embarrassing!

Last second, she throws up her foot and kicks me hard in the face. Was not expecting that! I land hard, and quickly scramble back to my feet. But she's already taken off again.

"Bitch!" I scream after her. The race is on yet again. Time to get serious-er, if that is even possible.

I pull a knife from my belt and give it a quick flip of my wrist. It goes soaring and sticks into her thigh. She screams out in surprise and, hopefully, pain. That slight pause was all I needed. I spring forward and tackle her onto the ground.

She struggles, but I simply plant a knee on her. Rather small girl, actually, not that big of a problem.

"Well, this is going well!" she snaps, as she tries to wriggle out.

"Ya think!" I laugh. DAMMIT! 10 grabs a knife and drives it into my shin, right between those bones. My laughter quickly morphs into a screech.

I grab another knife and drive it through her shoulder, right below the collar bone. It's long enough to go straight through and stake her to the ground. An unsummoned tear rolls down her face.

This is for you Samantha, hope you're watching from up there.

I raise another knife and as slowly as I can without gagging, slice across her lower body. 10 whimpers, but doesn't scream. Pity. The small sounds aggravate me.

All of a sudden, a punch nails me in the face. Oh, little girl is trying to save herself, how cute. Might leave me with a black eye, but she's dying...and I'm still alive. She looks around nervously, and then wrenches the knife from her shoulder, and quickly points it towards me. She stabs it forward, but I quickly deflect it. 10 thrusts it forward again and scratches deep into my upper arm.

"Dammit!" I snap. It's not a killing blow, but it still hurts. I raise the knife again and send it into her...

**Silver Manhatten (D1)**

A scream pierces the air. It's quite close actually.

My guess is that it's a girl, or at last bet, Cane. I seriously doubt that Slice could elicit a sound like that even if he wanted to. So that drastically narrows it down. It's either Rubye or Sammy.

A scream like that means pain...pain means near death, maybe...near death means one step closer. I run after the sound. If it's a mutt attack, I'm screwed, but if it's tributes fighting maybe I can pick the other one off easier.

I head off in the general direction. I know I'm close when I hear the occasional whimper. Oh, there goes a cuss word...must be Rubye.

I march into the clearing. No surprise, it's pretty obvious what's going on. Rubye has a bloodied Sammy pinned down, though Rubye doesn't look unharmed either. Neither of them notices me.

Might as well do this the old fashioned way. Rubye screams in surprise as I tackle her off her victim. I get a few good punches in before she knives my arm. Hindsight, I should've made sure she didn't have any left before attacking.

I really don't feel it, adrenaline kicking in maybe? Oh well, I'm not wasting valuable time nursing something that doesn't hurt.

She took advantage of my brief sudden stop though. She flips over and yells obscenities at me, yanking the knife from my arm and then repeatedly restabbing it in, with even more force.

A cannon fired. Rubye sits straight up, stunned. Then she starts screaming, "She's dead! She's dead! Yes!" The girl completely lost it I'm sure. Sammy's dead.

As she did, I took advantage of the distraction. I punch her in the face and quickly throw her off me. She rolls across the ground. "You're next!" she screeches.

Yeah right, not if I have a say in it.

I pounce at her and grab her head with both hands. My force sends her crashing. I bash her head against ground, again and again. She stares up at me, dazed, but not quite dead. She should be.

Her hands dart up quickly, clawing at my throat. I feel blood trickling down my neck. No way, not happening.

I bash her head one more time into the pool of blood that had puddled there. Her cannon fires. She's dead too. Wonder if her revenge was worth it...pointless as it was.

I might have survived this, but it's not over yet. I need to stop the bleeding in my arm, somehow, before I die of blood loss. How bad would that be?

This might sound bad, but I rip a strip of fabric off of Rubye's shirt to make a quick bandage. Have you ever tried wrapping your own arm without help? It's hard to get it tight, let me tell you that. The hand on my injured arm can't quite reach the knot to help tie. It's not the best fix, but it will have to do for now.

* * *

><p><strong>D1 Silver Manhatten, 15 ~ <strong>

D1 Rubye Glitter, 17 ~ (head bashed by Silver)

D2 Alexander "Alex" Lear, 17 ~ (beheaded by Slice)

D2 Absinthe "Abby" Pryse, 18 ~ (betrayed by Alex)

D3 West Greeter, 15 ~ (head smashed by hammer, courtesy of Silver)

D3 Katsu Mirehi, 14 ~ (Just noticed, Silver annihilated D3)

D4 Dexter "D.C." Codes, 17 ~ (Rubye slits throat)

D4 Crowe Garnet, 16 ~ (stabbed by Abby)

D5 Jeremy Soraks, 16 ~ (devoured by ant mutts)

D5 Echo Drifting, 18 ~ (neck snapped by D.C.)

D6 Rayd Wister, turned 19 ~ (axed by Reeve)

D6 Darcy Plear, 14 ~ (killed by Jeremy)

D7 Reeve Solomon, 17 ~ (machete to back thanks to Cane)

D7 Cascade Price, 16 ~ (stabbed by Crowe)

D8 Fray Lancing, 13 ~ (speared in back by Slice)

D8 Annastell Hubert, 15 ~ (Katsu, need I say more?)

**D9 Slice, 16 ~ **

D9 Mackensie Marble, 12 ~ (strangled by D.C.)

D10 Samantha "Sammy" Jester, 16 ~ (Rubye got her revenge...)

D10 Jeffery "Jeff" Jester, 17 ~ (death by wounds inflicted by giant chicken mutts and Nala)

**D11 Cane Jacobi, 14 ~ **

D11 Nala Wheat, 17 ~ (sliced by Slice, ignore the bad pun)

D12 Samuel Austen, 12 ~ (Got in Katsu's way, decapitated)

D12 Trip Moors, 15 ~ (cut down by Katsu)

* * *

><p><strong><em>And what does that mean...dun, dun, DUNN...FINAL THREE!<em>**


	43. Into the Black

**oO0~Day Six~0Oo**

**Slice (D9)**

The world is dark.

My eyes don't want to open, but I slowly force them apart. I'm almost blinded by the bright sun; it's at one of those weird angles that you can't avoid staring into. Brilliant.

I lift my hand up to block the light...and that's when the searing pain starts. It rips through my entire arm, starting up in my shoulder and quickly racing down all the way to my fingertips. I'm not exactly sure what the damage is, but man does it hurt. Understatement.

I've been through a lot of wounds before: bullets, dislocated shoulder, knives, broken finger...but none of it compares. The longer I'm awake, the more the pain spreads. It's just not my arm, it's everything. It's worse in one leg, said arm, and abdomen. But as I lie here, it's just achey all over. Kind of like a mix of the weakness of after the flu and the stiffness of staying in one position too long. All in all, not pleasant.

I'm in the Hunger Games, probably close to the end...last I could remember, there was ten-no wait, I killed the 2 guy, so nine including me- tributes left. I wonder (1.) how long I was out, and (2.) how many are left, oh and most importantly (3.) do I have a chance.

I try to prop myself up onto my not-as-pained arm. The effort sends new pain shooting through me. Right now, chances are lookin' slim. I do a quick scan of my surroundings...but if I can barely move, how can I escape?

A faint movement catches my eye. A humanoid mutt? Another tribute? I stare at it, trying to clear my vision. Is this a potential threat? What isn't a threat at this point?

The figure seems to be looking my direction. At least, its head is turned my way. It slowly creeps into my line of sight. The sun reflects off of a metal weapon with a vibrant glare.

This is not the way it was supposed to end. I don't even have a weapon in reach.

I squint, trying to get a better view of the tribute (obviously, that's what it is). It's the 11 boy...Cane, I think.

I jerk my head around, looking for a sword, anything, to defend myself with. Bad idea. The world starts spinning and little black dots threaten to cloud my vision. I rest my head back on the ground and blink really fast a few times, getting a grip.

The boy is hesitant, but he keeps his distance. His dark eyes scan me warily and he seems skittish, as if he's just waiting for me to spring up and decapitate him. Well, I would've...but my legs aren't exactly working at the moment.

"Are you seriously alive?" he asks hesitantly.

"No, I'm the talking corpse," I retort.

"Really? That's kind of...cool, I guess. You look dead," his voice perks up a little bit.

Thanks. That's really what I want to hear.

"What makes you say that?" honestly, I'm curious.

The boy's eyes narrow, as if he's sizing me up. He's still out of striking distance. If I 'look dead' is it possible for me to hurt him?

"Well, It's pretty creepy that you're lying in a puddle of blood...kind of reminds me of a zombie or something...are you gonna regenerate your legs?"

Legs? Please tell me that they're still there. Ignoring the dizziness, I jerk my head up for a quick exam. Thank God, they'll still there...but lying at unnatural angles. This new revelation sends new pain to me.

I really am helpless. I can't escape...if he gets close enough...I might be able to snap his neck...my only option at this point...that or die.

"Kid, do me a favor," I order.

He doesn't take his eyes off of me, "What?"

"Take your little knife,"

"Machete," he interrupts.

I roll my eyes. "Machete," I correct, "and put me out of my misery."

His face totally falls and his eyes go wide. He doesn't seem pleased with the idea.

Time to lay it on, "Please, I'm in agony." Maybe that's true...but it's all for the kill.

He bites his lip nervously. Yep, killing isn't his deal. But this is the Games. He audibly gulps, and takes a hesitant step forward. "Are you sure?"

"Do I look like I'm sure?" He stares at my face for a minute.

"Sorry," he mutters, taking another step closer. Two more steps, bend over for the blow...that's all I need.

He takes a flying leap and in one fluid movement sends the 'machete' crashing down on me. That didn't work as planned.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, I know this one was really short, but I'm revving up for the end :D<strong>

**Not putting a list...wonder why?**

**There's only TWO left! Holay Molay! If you really don't know who they are by this point, just look back a chapter and subtract Slice out of that equation.**


	44. Alive

**Switching out of first person for easier writing purposes!**

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><p><strong>oO0~Day Six: The Finals(!)~0Oo<strong>

"Claudius Templesmith here interrupting your broadcast for an important breaking news! Sorry for any delays in your show, but you will appreciate this. The 80th annual Hunger Games are now down to the final two (if you weren't watching it, you don't have a life)!" His cheery face lights up television screens across Panem, from the wall sized HD's in the Capitol all the way to the crummiest fuzzy set in the poorer Districts.

"Here it is...our finalists are Silver Manhatten from District 1 and Cane Jacobi from District 11. Let's do a quick recap each of their journeys to the end, shall we?

Silver Manhatten might have started out as the orphan on a training scholarship, but my has he progressed. He showed great promise ever since he volunteered at the tender (for a Career, anyway) age of fifteen. He hasn't proven us wrong yet! His first kill was at the initial bloodbath when he took out the 3 boy, West Greeter. After that, he just stuck around in the common 1, 2, and 4 alliance. As a group, they managed to pick off several others. Though nearing the end of the alliance, he seemed a bit less loyal, not pointing out the target of his District partner's fury when he had the chance. Twice. But he stayed true during Slice's attack, injuring the District 9 male's shoulder. He then deserted his crumbling alliance, to stick it out on his own. During this time, he came across the first bloodthirsty District 3 tribute in years, Katsu Mirehi. It's pretty obvious who won that fight!

Then came the drama of the Game, he came crashing in as Rubye Glitter was killing Samantha Jester of District 10. He wasted no time in taking out his District partner. Quite an interesting fight, leaving him with a few injuries...including a deep knife wound to his upper arm. Will this slow down Silver in the end?" Templesmith asked the anxious viewers.

"Let's head over to District 1, to see how his friends are handling his success. Clark, are you there?"

The scene switched over to a view of a common training center, Jays Clark stood looking warily at the nearby racks of potentially dangerous weapons. He looks up at the monitor, and quickly composes himself. "Ah, yes. Here we are at the District 1's Youth Training Program, where Silver Manhatten spent long hours preparing for this event."

He walks over to a dark haired girl, busy chucking spears at a distant target. Clark taps her shoulder and she spins on him, nearly stabbing him. He jumps back in surprise. He thinks about how he's not getting paid enough for this. "Ah, Crystal?" he asks, looking more at the camera lens then the girl.

"Yeah..." she smiles.

"Well, as everyone knows, your friend Silver Manhatten is now in the final two of this year's Hunger Games! How do you think he's going to do?"

"He's going to win, of course. No doubts about it. Hey Silver, I know you can't see this until you get out and by then it's too late I guess, but good luck!"

Clark smiles his fake tv smile, better get the question out. The sooner this is done, the sooner he can get out of this place and back to the Capitol. "In 'District: The Unofficial Hunger Game Tabloid', it says that you gave Mr. Manhatten his token...are you two an item?"

Crystal blushes a deep red, though she will later blame it on her workout, "Um, no. We're just really good friends."

"So nothing will happen if he makes it back?"

"When. When he makes it back," she replies quickly.

Clark barely restrains an eye roll, "Well, there you have it. This is Jays Clark reporting live from District 1, back to you Claudius!"

Templesmith's touch-up team quickly scrambles out of the way. He smiles from behind the news desk, "Moving on to our little wild card of the year, Cane Jacobi! No one (_honestly including the author_) expected this small fourteen year old of District 11 to make it this far. Even though he didn't kill in the beginning, he started off rather well with a decent alliance consisting of Rayd Wister of District 6, Echo Drifting of District 5, and Reeve Solomon of District 7. He might've been by far the youngest of the group, but oddly enough he ended up as the cautious almost-leader figure. Together they survived some mutts, and just each other. But when the alliance fell, it fell hard. Reeve, out of practically nowhere, ended Rayd's life. Before he could also take out Echo, Cane stabbed him in the back, literally.

He then left Echo, assumedly not wanting to hurt her later. It was pretty uneventful for him after that, which he's probably grateful for. That is, until he stumbled upon the wounded Slice. After some persuasion, Cane gave the mercy blow that ended Slice's life."

"Now, let's check in with Angel over in District 11..."

"Like, oh my gosh. We're in the orchards of 11, where little Cane used to work," Angel says, leaping over a puddle of mud...at least she hopes it's mud. How she landed that in those six inch pencil heels, the world will never know.

"So, this is, like, where he learned to use the ma-chacha..." she says motioning to the younger children up in trees, hacking down the ripe fruit.

The cameraman's voice whispers, "Machete...it's pronounced, muh-shet-ee"

"Oooh..." she gasps, the dawn of realization, "Right, I knew that. The machete. It's like a cleaver knife, for those of you who don't know!" She hops into a car and speedily, and kind of recklessly, drives into town.

She walks up to a young man, "This is, like, Cane's big brother Buffet. Anything you'd like to say to all of Panem?" Buffet looks at her blankly, surprised by the open-ended question. Angel leans over and show whispers, "This is live, you know..."

He nods quickly, "Um, Cane did a great job, I guess. Made it a lot farther than I would've..." he chokes on the words.

Angel pats his back, "It's okay, there is like a 50%...wait, yeah that's right...chance of him coming home again."

Buffet just stares, seemingly not comforted by her words. There's also a 50% chance of him NOT making it back. He can't take it anymore, he turns and walks away from the camera.

Angel stares after him for a second, "Well, I guess that's a wrap!"

The tv switches back to Claudius Templesmith, "Indeed it is, Angel. Thanks for the at-home coverage, an HGBC exclusive. Now for the Games..."

**~O~**

Cane paced around...how was he going to do this? The list of the dead rapidly went through his mind, trying to figure out who was left. It just had to be a career, didn't it? The District 1 guy, he wasn't much older than he was. Not too much larger either. But he just had to be a trained killer. Fun, fun.

He's made it so far. He can't give up now. He's so close to seeing Mom, Dad, Buffet, Nesh, and his home again...just living is another nice incentive. But how was he going to do this?

Different scenarios played through Cane's mind, unfortunately, most of those ended with him dying graphically. What perfect encouragement!

The only way he had a chance was if he had the element of surprise...His dark eyes light up with an idea and he runs off.

Not too far away, Silver attempts to tighten his make-shift bandage. At least it stopped bleeding. He walks down the street towards the start point. He hopes that something will be there to help him.

There's only one thing standing between him and Victory. He could do this; it's just one more kill. After this, he's going back to District 1 a champion. While there was no real family waiting back home, he had his friends back at the Care Home. He wouldn't just be giving himself a better life; he'd be giving those kids a chance too. It's the small simple things that matter, right?

He shook his head out, trying to clear it of all thoughts but of what lies ahead. He'll have his whole life to worry about that stuff, he needs to focus on the now.

Nothing will stop me. Nothing will stop me. He keeps chanting to himself. He has this. No doubt whatsoever. He spent years of his life, just preparing for this one pivotal moment, and he was ready for anything.

Except that.

Cane crashes on top of him. He had jumped off of a ledge of a building, hoping to get the deed done quick and easy. The machete narrowly misses plummeting into Silver's skull.

"Well, that didn't work as planned," Cane mutters as he quickly scrambles to his feet, dodging a blow by the hammer.

He didn't really want to fight to the death, but he didn't have a choice. Kill or be killed. Silver wouldn't hesitate, so neither should he. Well, in theory anyway.

"Um, surprise?" Cane says as Silver wordlessly lunges for him. He sidesteps avoiding most of it, but Silver grabbed a tight grip on his arm, twisting it behind him. The instantaneous pain racks through Cane's shoulder.

Silver quickly raises his hammer for the final blow. The swing that will end these Games. Cane struggles, but he can't quite get free.

It's kill or be killed.

He plunges the machete backwards, not quite sure what he's going to hit. A sickening thunk and a wordless yell of pain, confirms the shot. Silver's grip loosens just the tiniest bit and Cane jumps back pulling the weapon with him. He spins around to check out the damage.

Blood soaks through Silver's jeans right in the upper thigh...wow, just a little bit over...yikes.

It doesn't seem to slow the Career down though, two seconds later he has Cane pinned down. Madly he sends the hammer down. The metal clangs loudly against the concrete ground as Cane jerks his head to the side in a narrow escape. The machete flashes as he stabs it towards his adversary's face.

The boy jerks back, but a stripe of red is etched onto his face. Anger crosses his face. It shouldn't be this difficult to take down an 11 kid!

Neither tribute hesitates this time.

Metal clangs on metal as the weapons collide. It's hard to say who has the upper hand anymore.

A weapon crashes into the side of the opponents head. His hair darkens as the blood seeps out. Wordlessly, he stumbles forwards and falls. Dead. Simple as that.

The final cannon fires. It's last toll.

The new Victor stares at the dead body. There was no one left but him. He's alive, and the other is dead. Dead.

He actually did it. He's going home. He's alive. He takes a staggering step forward, and then falls to his knees.

He's alive.

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><p><strong>So...looks like a good time for a commercial break. I'm gonna grab a sweet tea, some popcorn, and maybe some chocolate...<strong>

**I feel like a bitch. Did you really think I'd leave it open-ended like that (rolls eyes)? By the way, this isn't the end; I have one more chapter planned. Who do ya'll think won? **


	45. Home

**Dun, Dun, DUNNNN!**

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><p><strong>oO0~The End~0Oo<strong>

The sticky red blood oozed from his head wound. I take a deep breath. Is this it?

Every so slowly he falls to the ground. It's the longest five seconds of my almost lost life. Each second drags on for an eternity. Is this really it? Have I made it?

He cracks against the ground with a solid thud. His bleeding body, dead. I did that.

The evil cannon hesitated in its shot. Is he really dead? Is he going to come back and murder me? Then it booms. It's the twenty third shot. I'm the only one left. I did it.

I can't keep my heart rate steady, it keeps on fluxuating from hummingbird fast to dead man slow. I breath again and again. I never realized before this how precious each gulp of air is. It's priceless, but it's all to often taken for granted.

I keep on hearing the echoing shot. I'm not sure if it's going off for real or if I'm hallucinating it. Is it possible to hallucinate sound? Am I just hearing things? AAAAAAAAAAHHH!

Breathe. Just breathe. I'm alive. I take a step forward. All of a sudden, my legs turn to jelly. I can't hold myself up anymore. I sink to my knees. I'm alive. Truly alive.

I close my eyes for the briefest of seconds. Thank you to anyone who's listening.

When I reopen them, the sky is dark from the descending hovercrafts. I don't look as one scoops up the dead body. I did that. Take another deep breath, you'll be fine...

I look down; all of a sudden the ground is below me. I'm floating skyward. Oh gosh, I'm really dead. At least I'm going up...not down. Though why I'm upward bound, I don't know. I killed people. Murder. Shouldn't that give me a one way ticket to you-know-where?

I hit the solid ground again. I thought clouds would be softer than this and white too, not a hard metallic gray. Ah man, psych...I am in Hell. I sink down to sit and draw my legs up to me.

A voice echoes from far away, "Are you feeling ok?" It's so distant. How big is this place anyway?

Assuming the voice is talking to me, I try to reply. No words are coming. Am I ok? Really and truly?

An arm wraps around my shoulder...it's normal colored. Weird, I always pictured angels white and gold...and the devil red and black. A hand grabs mine and hauls me to my feet. I take a couple wobbly steps forwards before collapsing. At least that's what I'm assuming happened, anyway. I landed on a soft bench.

There is a faint garble of voices and then a bright light. Maybe I'm not dead...just heading to death. Not very comforting. My arms tingle as someone pokes me repeatedly all over.

"Nothing too serious..." a voice says. Nothing serious! I'm dead...or dying...and it's nothing serious? "Shock mostly."

I try to stand up. Why, I'm not quite sure. It just feels like I need to. But hands push me back down, "Stay still, please. It's for your own good."

They say please in Hell? Maybe this is Heaven...man, does pop culture got it wrong.

"I, but, it..." I finally stutter out. Someone shushes me and gently pushes me down. I try to sit up, but am stopped.

A slight beeping sound fills the quiet, um, place. It's so sudden, I jump up and oddly enough, a thing of wires comes with me. The beeping sound gets a ton faster. What the heck is going on? Some weird audio form of Chinese Water Torture?

"The electrocardiogram is going wild," a voice says, "His heart rate is unstable."

A deeper voice answers, "Sedate him."

Sedate! That doesn't sound good. The world starts spinning and my vision blurs. I struggle to keep my heavy eyelids open, but it's a worthless battle. It goes dark...

**~O~**

My eyes slowly open. Where am I? What happened? I have a feeling I'm not in 11 anymore.

I'm lying in what appears to be a sterile white room. It's pretty empty, just a desk, a machine, a bed, and me. I slowly sit up, this is just a freaky dream, right?

Then it all comes flying back. The reapings...the chariots...the Hunger Games...the...murder. It's like a good ol' slap in the face, only much, much more painful. This isn't a dream...it's a living nightmare. I ended a life. Three of them actually. My stomach churns at the thought, if there was anything in it, it'd be coming up right now.

All those other people dead. How the heck am I still alive?

The door flies open and someone comes dashing in, "Cane! You're up!"

"Yeah," I mutter. I can't even begin to recognize the face right now, my thoughts are such a blur. Oh, wow. What happened?

He, she, it (I really have no idea! Not paying attention) starts rambling on. The only thing I really halfway grasp is "Out cold for a couple days" and "Victor"

Victor...that strange word plays around in my head. It sounds so foreign, so distant, like a fantasy. I can't be alive...much less a Victor.

Then the voice says something that really locks into my messed up mind: "Home".

I'm going home. I'm seeing my family again. I'm going home.

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><p><strong>You know, I told myself at the beggining of this that I was gonna have a career win...epic fail, huh? I'm kinda disappointed in my lack of resolve, I'm usually a lot more stubborn. Seemed to look like Cane was the fan fave since near the beginning (due to the polls during the Capitol chapters, he won by a landslide and the recent reviews). <strong>  
><strong>Then I had a last minute idea...I'm partway through the reapings of my second syot, why don't I just make the Victor of this one a mentor and since D1 was already past...ok, excuses, excuses<em>.<em> Cane won. That's it (still kinda surprised!). He is now the new District 11 mentor in Murdered Minutes :)**

**Now for my annoying "thank you" speech:**

**Thank you to everyone who gave my a wonderful character, I loved 'em all. **

**Huge thanks to packman23, who helped me sort through scatter-brained ideas (unfortunately, most of which weren't used) . Best Vice President Gamemaker ever!**

**And thanks to everyone who actually took the time to read this. It's been fun.**

**Well...that's a wrap (for this one anyway)! Now clicking the "complete" button!**


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